The Last Breeze of Autumn
by chromate
Summary: Takeru's world was shattered when his mother's boyfriend began to abuse him. Hikari desperately wanted to help, but Takeru hid it from her and isolated himself from his friends. Would she be able to save him? Contains themes of abuse, assault, and rape. Majorly Takari.
1. Chapter 1

Greetings, everyone. This is my second Digimon story. Unlike my first one, _You've got to hide your love away!_, this story contains a much serious and darker theme, and that is abuse. By no means am I endorsing such behaviour. This is just fanfiction, and the whole idea just occurred to me one day when I was taking a shower (very random, I know). I decided to write down the idea, and it turned into an almost 30-page word document. I've pretty much spent the past two weeks writing this story, and it's near its completion now. So I decided to post the chapters out bit by bit. There will probably be a total of 5 chapters. Just so you know. This is essentially a Takari fic, but there will also be some Takeru/Hikari/Ken friendship themes and some other characters will be included as well, although they won't play a major role in this. I just personally like these three characters so much that they have to feature a lot in my stories.

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED THAT this story contains themes of abuse, assault, and rape.** _This is an M-rated fic_. If you're uncomfortable with any of such themes, I suggest you to leave.

As usual, I recommend everyone to read in 1/2 page size to get the feeling of reading a book.

Without further ado, please enjoy the first chapter.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

* * *

To Takaishi Takeru, loving somebody had never been easy. His parents' divorce left a permanent scar in his heart that he thought he would never be capable of loving someone. The very word 'love' sounded like poison to him, for he knew very well that people who proclaimed about love actually did not have a single clue about it. His father vowed to love his mother in their wedding. His mother vowed to be forever by his side regardless of any difference. Look at where they were now.

Lie. Big, fat lie.

That's why Takeru had decided, from a young age, that he would never love anyone. He avoided the word. He sneered at the very word. He laughed at people who expressed it, for how shallow they were, for he just knew that they would not be together forever. He began to put on a façade for others: he would laugh when others laugh, but the smile never reached his eyes, and his mind just kept screaming for them to stop expressing such positive feelings. He felt suffocated seeing affectionate displays. There was just no point in doing so. There had never been love in any friendship or family.

No, none at all.

Yet his adventure in the Digimon World shattered his view. In the world he never thought could have possibly existed, he met friends, companions, brothers and sisters…people and digimons that he could entrust his life to. He learned to truly laugh, following what his heart told him to. Experiencing near-death experience at the delicate age of eight made him aware of the possibility of caring and loving someone else. For that, he could firmly say he loved his partners as they went on protecting the Digital World.

The second adventure that he experienced when he was eleven further affirmed that view. He was surprised by how fighting unknown monsters could actually make him a better person, by beginning to believe in the power of love again. When he finally overcame his scepticism of love, he and his fellow digimon adventurer, Yagami Hikari, became a couple, much to no one's surprise but Takeru himself. He never thought he could enjoy the idea of liking, or loving, somebody. He thought he would just treat Hikari as a friend, or at most a sister, but hanging out with her, holding her hands, kissing her soft lips…now Takeru's world was full of light. Everything was just too good to be true, and he had so much faith in the future lying ahead of him.

Sometimes, one only falls much deeper when one is too hopeful.

* * *

'Takeru, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Tanaka Ryusuuke. Starting from today he'd be living with us.'

The sixteen-year-old raised his eyebrows as his mother, Takaishi Natsuko, introduced a middle-aged man to him. The man had an average face and a well-built body, as Takeru could see his strong muscles under his pale t-shirt. His black hair was tidily cut as if he had just visited the barber not long ago. He looked relaxed and gave Takeru a smile, to which the blond nodded in return. He knew that his mother was seeing somebody, and while he was not too comfortable with that idea, he knew he should respect his mother's choice. Yet to have her boyfriend living with them was such a refreshing idea that he could not help but glare at his mother for that. Natsuko seemed to ignore it, and just briefly told him to be nice to the man. She had to leave for work, so she quickly prepared dinner for the two males and left the apartment.

Takeru, hoping to be nice, tried to engage Tanaka in casual conversation, without revealing much about his true self, such as his identity as a digidestined or his relationship with other people. He learned that his mother would leave Japan for a while, since her company assigned her to work on a project in the United States for two months, and she wanted Tanaka to look after him in the meantime. While Takeru thought that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he knew that his mother was just being protective of her younger son. Having lived with his mother for about ten years now, without his father or older brother around, the blond knew how much his mother cared for him.

His mother had been getting happier in the past few months, and Takeru deduced that probably it was because of meeting Tanaka-san, a police officer she happened to meet in a commercial banquet. Takeru did not know the details; all he knew was that he had charmed his mother enough to have him come over and take care of him while she was gone.

To his surprise, Tanaka seemed like a friendly person, and Takeru laughed at a few of the man's joke during their meal. Still, there was something about him that made Takeru shiver, but he could not pinpoint what exactly. He just had a feeling that the man was not as presentable as he seemed.

A week passed by like that uneventfully. After Natsuko left, however, Takeru's nightmare began.

* * *

Takeru returned grudgingly to the place he used to call 'home'. He slowly put the key through the tiny holes and got the door open, and he walked in step by step, hoping that he would be alone in the apartment. It was ten o'clock at night, though, and he knew he would be here.

'Where the hell have you been?'

The blond, with his face paled, turned to look at the owner of the voice timidly, his hands clutching to the strap of his bag protectively. He was confronted by a man sitting comfortably on the sofa, with a can of beer in his hand and several empty cans by his side. Takeru knew instantly that he was drunk. Again.

'I was having dinner with the basketball team.' He replied quietly. 'I told you about this yesterday.'

He dropped his head as an empty can of beer flew in his direction, hitting the wall behind him, and the sound of the broken aluminium can echoed in the room. The man stared at the sixteen-year-old, judging him from head to toe, and Takeru gulped. It had become a routine for him lately, but he still was not all that comfortable with it yet.

'Like hell you did.' The man hissed under his breath, and the next thing Takeru blinked his eyes, he was pinned against the wall, with his hands being held tightly by the approaching man. He moaned in pain and shivered when he felt the drunken breath of Tanaka near his neck. He looked away frighteningly, like a prey trapped by its predator, and Tanaka smirked. The man made a strong grip on the bruises on his arms, and Takeru yelped in pain. 'You little, pathetic liar,' he sneered. 'Don't you ever think that I'll believe in your lies. You should behave more like your innocent mother, you know, then maybe I will treat you a little better.'

Before Takeru could protest, he was thrown to the ground, and Tanaka started kicking him in the stomach. The younger man yelled in pain, but that only further aroused the tall middle-aged man, and he was enjoying this more and more. It's been two weeks since Natsuko left, and Takeru was now officially his personal toy. He still had more than a month to play with the teenager however he wanted to.

He unbuckled his belt and whipped Takeru with it. Even though the basketball star tried to evade any incoming attack, the pain in his stomach caused his reaction to be slower, and he received a few grave blows in the arm. Some of his old scars that he tried to hide from others were broken, with blood running out of them. All he could hear was the sound of the brown belt making contact with his body until he was too tired to even protect himself. Tanaka was not satisfied, however. Eyeing Takeru carefully, a wily smirk appeared on his face as he dragged Takeru into the bedroom. He threw him on the bed and began to unzip his pants.

Takeru remembered vividly what happened that night, as he kept trembling for the whole night, trying to get that scenario off his head, but to no avail. The pain was too real for him to even pretend that it never happened. Then he began to weep when the apartment turned completely still.

* * *

Takeru was woken by the buzzing of his mobile phone. He could tell it was morning, with all the curtains in the room blocking the penetrating sunlight from glimmering the room, and he reluctantly opened his eyes and looked for his phone by his bed. It was a text message from his girlfriend.

'Are you alright? You've been acting weird these days, and are you even at school now? I tried calling you but you did not answer your phone…Takeru, talk to me please…'

He felt his heart ached at the message, as he checked and saw several missed calls from her. He reckoned Hikari knew him better than anyone did, without a doubt. He had been putting on a façade in school these days to avoid suspicion by others, and he was glad that since it was November now, they had to wear long-sleeves uniform for school, so he could hide his bruises with the white long sleeves. He also avoided physical education and basketball training whenever possible, telling his teacher and coach that he was just not feeling well. In addition to that, he tried to stay by himself as much as possible. Seeing the smiles and happy faces of others frightened him.

He knew Hikari was worried. She already had her suspicion when he kept spacing out or when he refused to be close to her, ignoring her attempt to hug or kiss him. Whenever the brown-haired brunette gave him the look that begged him to talk about it, he just dismissed it and said he was just tired.

What exactly was he tired of?

He fumbled on his bed and stared at the ceiling of his room. He did not want to get up, when his body still suffered from all the pain Tanaka had inflicted on him last night…but then, breathing the same air as the man did was not a pleasant idea to him, either. He usually left before the man got up and went to work, so if he found out that he was still here…

The images of last night dashed into his mind again, and that made him feel nauseated. He wanted to get rid of those feelings, of which Tanaka had his hands all over his body, of his drunken breath near his neck and chest, of the way he violated him over and over again. Takeru's moaning only provoked him to move faster, and he was slapped in the face when he sobbed afterwards. 'Such a little girl, you cutie.' The man's words echoed in his mind.

Reluctantly and carefully, Takeru got up and walked into the bathroom. A shower was what he needed for the moment.

* * *

Yagami Hikari wondered what could make the nicest person on earth change that much in such a short period of time. It seemed just like yesterday when Takaishi Takeru was the model student at school: good grades, star basketball player, kind and caring personality, cheerful smiles…now he was often late for school, slept during classes, and often gave a cold shoulder to others. To make matter worse, she felt like he had been avoiding her as well. This was not the Takeru she knew and fell in love with.

'I'm fine. Just overslept, that's all. See you at school.'

The content of the text she received this morning, during 2nd period, kept reappearing in her mind. She recently had already heard complaints from Ken, Miyako and Daisuke about Takeru being cold to them when they ran into each other at school. Hikari was left to wonder what caused such changes when she was a victim of his cold treatment as well.

Just what happened during the past week that could have caused such changes? As far as she could remember, everything was just going fine. She knew that he missed his mother who was out of country to work, and his brother who was on tour with his band. But then, it wasn't a first that the two most important people in Takeru's life were away from him on a temporary basis. Maybe they had a fight before either party left? Then it had to be a huge one for him to be acting like this, for he was the kind of person who would avoid conflicts as much as possible. The basketball team was also on a winning streak, so it shouldn't be the pressure of being the star player of the team. Was it something about their relationship? She shook her head in attempt to get rid of that thought. She didn't recall any instant that their relationship seemed to go wrong. Before this week, he had always been a sweet and caring boyfriend that girls in the school could only dream of having.

Running out of idea, the brunette sighed and tried to find her boyfriend. It was now lunchtime, and the weird Takeru of the week had been hiding in different places instead of having lunch with her and their friends. He kept saying he was tired, but Hikari did not think she could believe in that reason any longer. Things just did not add up. There was something wrong with him, and she wanted to know why.

After several failed attempts, the sixteen-year-old finally managed to locate him. He was standing by a tree that shared a safe distance from the football field. She took a step back at first upon seeing his still figure. He was looking at the students with a blank expression, his eyes devoid of any trace of emotion, his hands shoved in the pockets of his trousers. Hikari shivered. The dark aura that he gave off scared her.

He seemed to take note of her presence as he turned slightly to look at her. For a split second, Hikari thought she saw light in his eyes again, but his blue eyes quickly turned dull in the next second. He just looked at her and she looked back at him. Neither spoke a word. Usually they were able to stay with each other in comfortable silence, but this time it was different. She couldn't read him at all. She didn't know who was standing in front of her.

'I'm fine, Hikari. I'm just tired.'

His words brought her back to reality, as she looked at him more closely. He seemed paler and thinner, even his blond hair seemed to have lost some of its glister when piled with his pained countenance. She reached out her hand and caressed his cheeks. 'Takeru, what's wr–'

Yet she was taken aback by his reaction. As soon as her hand touched his skin, he stepped back out of impulse, as if her hand was contagious with unknown disease. She widened her eyebrows, her mouth agape, and her heart ached. Takeru had a somewhat guilty look on his face, but then he gave her a forced smile. The one that he had been wearing over the past week. 'I'm just not feeling well, Hikari. A little sick, in fact. I don't want you to get sick as well.'

They remained standing there for some minutes, with Hikari looking at him desperately and Takeru avoiding her glances, looking at anything but her eyes. He lowered his head and stared at the ground, thinking of what he should say to break this unbearable silence. He never enjoyed lying to her, but then, what was he supposed to say?

'…I see…' He heard sounds of retreating footsteps, and when he raised his head to where she had been standing she was already gone. Takeru stared at her spot and sighed, sinking to the ground while leaning on the tree for comfort. He could not bear seeing her hurt, but he, as a wounded person, had no clue on what was best to do in such situation. So he just remained sitting there, looking at nothing in particular, until the bell rang and he reluctantly left and walked to his classroom. It was only when he left his spot that he realized he had been crying since Hikari left.

* * *

_End of Chapter 1_

* * *

I hope you like the first chapter so far. Please kindly review to let me know what you think. Until next time.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for everyone who reviewed or 'favourite/alert-ed' this story. I've received some reviews and PMs containing questions to this story's worldview, so I should spend a little time explaining things here:

_Where is Patamon? Or the other digimons?_  
A. Well, this fic is intended to be character-focused, so no digimons, unfortunately. Also, I personally don't like the 02 ending where everyone can have a digimon now, apart from my disfavour of Toei Animation not specifying Takari at the end, which has been very obvious to me since Digimon 01. Regardless, I don't want to write a fic where digimons are everywhere on the streets and school, for that would be too much trouble for me, as a writer, to portray all that. So, just assume that even after 02 ending, digimon is still a secret to the whole world, and the digimons (Patamon, Agumon etc.) have to stay in the Digital World.

_Q. Isn't Takeru 16? He should be able to take care of himself!  
_A. There is a more practical aspect to this. Natsuko will be away for 2 months, not 2 days. There are concerns about things like money, food etc. Plus naturally Natsuko will worry about her son when the father is not living with them. I also don't want to think of Takeru as a Gary-sue who can do everything by himself, and I need a step-father-figure in the household to make this story work. I thought about making Tanaka the real step-father, but then thought it would be even harder to describe their relationship, considering my focus of the story is Takeru being abused, so he's just the boyfriend of Natsuko here. Let's say that Natsuko trusted him, and Takeru thought he could too. I thought about setting Takeru as maybe 13 or 14, but that sounded too young for me to develop the Takeru-Hikari relationship fully, for I want it to be that they care very deeply for each other, not just because of their solid friendship after the digimon adventures, but because they're romantically entangled together as well. You'll see more of that aspect as the story develops.

I hope that clarify many of the questions you may have when reading this story. Just let me know if you have any more, and I'll be happy to answer them.

As usual, I recommend to read in 1/2 page size.

Now, on to the next chatper.

* * *

_Chapter 2_

* * *

Inoue Miyako frowned at the terrible state of her best friend. Hikari looked totally lifeless, with her eyes staring aimlessly at various things, her order of coffee left untouched on the table for half an hour, and her hands fidgeting with her hair every now and then. Even though Miyako had been talking for quite some time now, the group had come to an awkward silence, as everyone knew they were not here today to talk about school or the latest rumour at school, as much as they hoped that was the topic of discussion today.

'So…' Ichijouji Ken began, as he noticed that everyone seemed reluctant to speak their mind, 'does anyone know what is wrong with Takeru lately?'

The mere whisper of the blond's name sent shivers to everyone. They had all witnessed the change in him, and despite being frightened by it, they had decided to sit together and talk about it, before directly confronting Takeru about it, which would be their last resort. They had all tried to talk to him, but Takeru merely raised his eyebrows, forced a smile, and left before they could say anything more. The child prodigy sighed as once again silence filled the table. They were sitting in a coffee shop nearby their school that they frequented, and it was a good thing not many people were there today. The last thing they needed was hearing other people talking about the now-infamous Takaishi.

'Argh!' Daisuke suddenly groaned, scratching his spiky hair repeatedly. 'I mean, I don't know what happened, but he is just like a different person now, you know? We are in the same class, and I can tell you he talks to no one at all. No one. He doesn't even acknowledge the teacher when they ask him questions in class.'

'I've asked people in the basketball team about it.' Ken continued. 'They say Takeru started skipping practice since last week. Although it is not really a big deal, given that basketball season is over, they do find it strange that the most hardworking one in the team is behaving like that.'

'Didn't his mother leave for America last week?' Iori, the youngest in the group, asked. 'Could it be that they had a huge fight about it? Or maybe it was with Yamato-san, since he hasn't been in town for weeks already?'

'But isn't he used to it already?' Daisuke raised his eyebrows when everyone, with the exception of Hikari, looked at him oddly. 'What? Come on, we all know about Takeru's family background, and this isn't the first time that neither his mother nor Yamato-san is by his side.'

'That still does not explain why Takeru-san is ignoring us too…' Iori timidly replied. He was worried about his digivolution-partner. He always saw the tall blond as a brotherly figure, and now the older brother was in trouble and he was frustrated that he could not do much to help him.

'He said he was tired.' Everyone's attention now turned to Hikari, who muttered her first word of the day. 'I asked him about it three days ago, and he just said he was tired and a bit sick. The same answer that he had been giving us since last week.' Her voice was devoid of any emotion, and that did not go unnoticed by the other digidestined.

'Hikari,' Ken began, but was not sure if he could pick the right word, 'don't take any offence here, but…did anything happen between you and Takeru lately?'

The brown-haired girl hesitantly shook her head. 'Not that I can think of anything. Just a week ago he was still the same Takeru that we all knew…I know he is a bit stressed by being alone in his apartment, but he did not sound that bothered either. As Daisuke said, he is used to this kind of thing.'

'Yeah, he didn't start acting funny until last week, but his mother left two weeks ago. There has to be something that happened in between that caused such a change in him.' Miyako frowned while stating her opinion. She did not like this at all. She was well aware that Takeru did not open up to others easily, but it was the first time he had acted like this since she knew him.

'Why don't we all just confront him?' Daisuke listened to what everyone had said, and was annoyed now. 'Us sitting here bitching about his weird behaviour won't take us anywhere. We need the answer from the guy himself.'

'That would be unwise.' Iori stated simply. 'I don't think we can get any answer from Takeru-san if he didn't even talk to Hikari-san about it.'

The group knew very well that it was true. If there's anyone that Takeru would want to talk to, that person had to be Hikari, his girlfriend of two years and best friend since the first adventure in the Digital World. If Hikari knew nothing about his current situation, it did not seem likely they would, but then, as his friends, this was the best they could do now.

'Then what? Just sitting here and complaining about it? We should do something!' Daisuke yelled and banged his hands on the table, shocking a few customers nearby.

'He seems so distant now.' Hikari's words caught everyone's attention again. 'Three days ago I tried to touch his face, but he just…withdrew from my hand. It was as if he was afraid of me, or if a stranger is about to touch him.' She sighed and rested her head on her arms on the table, thinking of what could have gone wrong that caused Takeru to become someone they no longer recognized.

Ken looked at Hikari, studying her countenance, slightly amused. 'Hikari, you are a strong girl.'

She raised her head and looked at him, puzzled. 'What are you saying, Ken?' Memories of her past illness and her experience in the Dark Ocean began to resurface in her mind, and those were not pleasant memories. Plus, her boyfriend was in turmoil and she was being shoved away by him. That did not make her happy at all, so she raised her voice. 'I am not strong.'

'You are, and a lot stronger than any of us think.' As others looked at him with a confused expression, he continued. 'While you may appear weak, your will is strong. You are the bearer of Light, and Light exists to rid of darkness.' Iori raised an eyebrow, getting what Ken was trying to say. Miyako and Daisuke, however, still looked puzzled.

'Hope, however, means faith. You can have faith in something that can or cannot happen.' He paused, looking at Hikari who was trying to register what he had just said. 'Faith in one's belief. Faith in one's strength. Faith in one's competency. While hope can be used to strengthen one's will, once broken, the will becomes so fragile that it can hardly recover.

'Takeru appears to be strong-minded, but he is a lot more fragile and delicate than most of us think he is.'

Different images flashed in front of Hikari's eyelids. She saw pictures of their first date, when he was so nervous that he kept trembling over his glass of water in the restaurant. She saw the glint of uncertainty and fear in his eyes when he confessed to her, when they were fourteen after Yamato's concert. She saw anger and jealousy in his ocean-blue orbs whenever some guys at school flirted with her, or touched her without her consent. She saw the pure fright in his eyes when they revealed their relationship to her brother, and the curious way Taichi gawked at them with his game controller dropping to the floor. She saw despair in his face when he missed a shot that cost his basketball team the championship match last year. Yet the image that stood out among all was a scene that she had only heard from Yamato: five years old Takeru hopelessly watching his father and brother leaving the apartment, while his mother was sobbing silent tears next to him. The boy just stood there, unsure of what to say or do. Yamato recalled turning back to see his brother having a pained expression on his innocent face. The older blond almost cried.

Hikari kept pondering on Ken's words, and wondered what she should do next. The wind outside the coffee shop became stronger. The trees and the branches were swinging and leaves dangled on the streets, floating in a disorganized manner while the sun was slowly losing its glimmer.

* * *

'I see you have been behaving these days.'

Tanaka muttered those words as he lit his cigarette, eyeing the boy in bed with barely any clothes on. Takeru succumbed to fetal position and hugged his own arms, forgetting how long it had been since he returned home and had no need to suffer from such treatment.

It all happened a few days after his mother had left. At first, he and Tanaka could share some peaceful nights where they exchanged normal conversations about their daily lives. Then one night he started drinking, and when Takeru accidentally broke a plate in the kitchen while washing the dishes, the middle-aged man exploded, swore at him, and slapped him in the face. Takeru initially thought it was just because he was drunk, so he did not complain on the first night. Yet when he hit him again on the next day, he knew it was just the kind of person he was.

'_Don't you dare think you can complain to your mother about it.' He threatened on his second night of beating him. 'I'll crush you, crush her, and your precious little girlfriend as well.' He left Takeru's room as he eyed a picture on the blond's desk. It was taken on one of their dates, with Hikari wrapping her arms around his waist from behind and both smiled timidly at the camera, their cheeks visibly flushed. 'You should introduce her to me as well.' The lustful grins he flashed Takeru prompted the sixteen-year-old to jump up and ran towards him, raising his fist. _

'_Don't you dare touch Hika…' before he could finish, another contact with his fist forced him to fall back in pain. 'You,' he pointed his finger at the teenager, 'don't get to tell me what to do. Now you behave, and they will be safe.' He slammed the door, leaving Takeru in his room to examine his wounds. He coughed and his body ached, but his thoughts were on the two most important women in his life. He did not even want to imagine what Tanaka would do to Hikari if he ever came across her, when he was apparently too strong for him to even defend himself. _

_So Takeru remained sitting there on the floor, his eyes moistened and his limbs paralyzed. What was he to do? He never imagined the man would commit such horrible acts, but when he threatened to lay his hands on Hikari, Takeru's temper exploded. _

_Yet he was still so helpless against the man, despite his best attempt to strike him. He couldn't imagine what he could do if Hikari was here…he would fail horribly as a boyfriend to protect her, and that was why Hikari had to stay out of this mess. He would never let anyone hurt her, even if that meant he would hurt her. _

_Then, what choice did he have? Either he or Hikari would suffer. And he would do anything to ensure she would not get hurt._

Tanaka moved his hand around Takeru's body again, slowly feeling the fading warmth of his skin as he drew circles with his hand on his thigh. Takeru shivered but did not resist.

'Good boy.' Tanaka smirked and patted his head, fumbling his messy blond hair. 'As I told you, just do as I say, and everything will be alright.'

Takeru wanted to punch the man. He even had the urge to kill him. He had even tried, yet he was not strong enough against the man who treated his attack like it was nothing. The Child of Hope then thought about turning to others for help, but how could they help him? Yamato and his mother were out of town, and his father was always busy with work. Hikari…he could not tell Hikari about it. If she knew, she would no doubt confront the man herself, and when that happened, that would be the end of both of them. The last thing he needed now was for Hikari to get involved in this mess. In fact, one wrong step in his plan and he would lose his beloved forever.

He thought about calling the police, but how would he tell them? That he was raped by his mother's boyfriend? That he suffered from endless beatings just because the man was drunk? Would they even believe him? What evidence did he have apart from his own words? Wasn't it obvious that they would trust a fellow colleague and not a young teenager? Tanaka was a police officer after all. Although Takeru did have many bruises on his body that could testify to that, but then…the smile of his mother floated into his mind. He had rarely seen his mother so happy with another person. After her divorce, she had dated a few men, but they never worked it out. Now that she was finally happy with someone, was he to ruin her happiness?

Tanaka snorted as he finished his cigarette. 'I'm hungry, boy. Go make some noodles for me.'

'Yes.' Takeru murmured his reply and got himself out of bed. It was one in the morning, and he wanted to sleep so badly. Yet the experience from past few days told him that Tanaka would sleep after having his food, so he complied, in hopes of shortening his suffering for the night.

If he looked at the mirror now, he would not recognize himself. His eye bags had become more apparent, his cheeks swollen, and his eyes devoid of any signs of life. Even his movements were like that of a living zombie. Perhaps he was more like a living corpse now. He did not go to school today since his body just could not bear the pain anymore. Rather fortunately for him that today was a Friday, so he could still avoid the murmurs and suggestive glances from his schoolmates for some time. He knew well enough that he had become the topic of gossips these days, but he did not care. He did not have the strength to.

His closer friends, the digidestined, had also stopped talking to him. After he coldly shoved Hikari away, the group stopped confronting him about what was going on, and to that he was actually grateful. He really did not want to let them know about what was really happening to him, for he had no idea as well. What he could not stand was the pained expression on his girlfriend's face when all she was trying to do was to feel him.

He was afraid of such human contact right now. He felt dirty, corrupted, and Hikari deserved so much better. Yet at the same time he longed for her touch. How much he had missed her. He wondered how things would turn out to be if he had fought Tanaka on the first night of his abuse. If he somehow had succeeded, then all of this would not happen, and he would still enjoy his senior high life with his sweet girlfriend and his friends. They would go on dates, shared kisses, and held each other while whispering words of affection into each other's ears. Now, he was in a mess. And he did not know how to pull himself out of it.

Takeru took a deep breath and emptied the content of the noodles into boiling water, watching the hard content slowly soften and dissolve into the hot liquid. The image of Hikari's shocked countenance was something he could not forget ever since their encounter three days ago. Now, even she had been avoiding him, or he had been avoiding her. If they happened to run into each other at school, he would always be the first to break eye contact and leave, leaving a hurt Hikari standing there, too dejected to say anything to him.

That's good enough, he thought to himself. That's good enough.

* * *

Hikari hugged the cushion tightly as she lay on her bed. Normally she would have closed the curtain to prevent the sunlight from brightening every single thing in her room, but now her mind was too preoccupied with other things to care about her surroundings. Her parents had already voiced their concern over her eating habit, as she ate less and less. She faked a smile and pretended nothing was wrong, but when Taichi was home briefly yesterday, back from his college dormitory, she broke down in front of him and cried for the whole night, startling the overprotective brother who was totally confused.

He looked thoughtful as he let Hikari explain the whole situation to him. Over the years he had matured a lot, so instead of losing his temper and attempting to kill Takeru, he held Hikari close until her tears turned dry. Meanwhile he was thinking of possible explanation to the whole thing, but he could not come up with any. It was already weird to think Takaishi Takeru, of all people, would make Hikari heartbroken like this. True, they had their fair share of arguments before in their two-year relationship, but it had never been anything major, and they made up faster than any couple Taichi had known. Besides, Taichi personally knew Takeru since the young blond was eight years old. Their experience together in the Digital World had made Takeru his unofficial younger brother, so he had always felt safe that he was the one dating his precious little sister. To think that something like this would happen now…to say he was surprised would be an understatement.

Hikari was really thankful that Taichi was there for her last night, as she turned around in her bed to let her stomach lay on the soft surface and thought about what happened last night. Her older brother had comforted her, softly stroking her back and patting her head to make her feel better. He didn't say much, for he was unsure of any possible, logical explanation to Takeru's action, but he said he would call Yamato to see if he knew anything about it.

Of course, the Ishida Yamato, Takeru's older brother, who was on tour with his band now in Hokkaido. If anyone would know anything about Takeru, it would be him. It's pointless to contact Mrs Takaishi who was out of the country now, so her only hope lay on the older blond.

Hesitantly, she dialled his number.

'Hello?' She heard a yawn from the receiver, and reckoned that band musicians probably did not like waking up at one in the afternoon

'Hey Yamato-san, it's Hikari.' She paused as she heard another lazy yawn. 'Is this a good time to talk?'

'Nah you're fine,' she heard some complaining noise from the background, but decided to ignore it. 'So I'm guessing you're calling to ask about Takeru?'

'Yes.' She timidly replied. Taichi probably had called Yamato last night after Hikari had cried herself to sleep, and she didn't feel like repeating the scenario to another person again. Just talking about the subject pained her. And Hikari had not seen her brother this morning, for he had gone to visit some relatives of theirs with their parents. They had decided to let Hikari rest, for they knew from Taichi about Takeru's problem. It was good that they both liked the young blond as well, so it didn't take Taichi much time to convince them that it was just some couple arguing problem.

'To be honest I'm surprised too.' Yamato sounded more energetic and concerned now. 'Last time we talked was…three or four days ago. He sounded fine and didn't mention anything special. You know, just the usual school stuff.' The brown-haired brunette frowned. So even Yamato did not know about his situation.

'I tried calling him yesterday night, but he did not answer his phone. I called his home, and that Tanaka answered. You know, the guy that mom is seeing now. He said Takeru had slept already, and that he also didn't notice anything different about him. Not that I really trust him since I haven't met him before, but that's all I can do given where I am at right now.'

She sighed, and knew that he was right. She was living in the same city as he was, and she didn't know what was wrong with her. How in the world could she have expected that Yamato could?

Yamato probably felt the burden on Hikari's shoulders as they were talking now, so he went on. 'Look, Hikari, I'll be back at Obaida in three days. By then, I'll come talk to you two and we'll fix this, alright? Takeru is probably just stressed out about something. You know he's not really the type to say everything, like Taichi or Daisuke is.'

'Arigato, Yamato-san.' She smiled weakly as she heard the worry and determination in his voice. While the older blond always acted cold, she knew he cared a lot about his brother and friends, and she was grateful to know that when she was at loss of what to do.

'And Hikari?'

'Huh?'

'Whatever Takeru has done, always know that he loves you.'

Hikari was startled. She knew how much the word 'love' meant to Takeru. When they first began dating, Yamato had met up with her and told her about Takeru's childhood trauma of witnessing his parents' divorce. He knew that it still haunted him, and she was warned that Takeru might, just might, not show that much intimacy because of that, even though he cared a lot. Keeping that in mind, throughout the two years of their relationship Hikari knew that she loved the young man, but she would still be careful of using the word in his presence. The last thing she wanted was to shatter his world by saying the unspeakable.

'I know what I've told you before,' Yamato continued, 'but trust me. Takeru has changed after you two started dating, and even though he is still not good at expressing himself, he cares about you a lot more than you think.'

Hikari stayed silent as Yamato explained. What he said only seemed to generate more questions in her mind regarding Takeru's action lately. Yet at least she was relieved to have heard that from his brother, whom she was sure would not lie to her about such thing. She thanked him again and hung up the phone.

She stayed still for a while, then, having made up her mind, she dialled another number.

* * *

'Thanks for coming with me here, Ken.' Hikari gave a weak smile as she and her companion left the elevator to reach their destination. 'I don't know if I can do this by myself.' She had planned on doing this, but facing him by herself seemed to be too much for now, and having someone by her side reassured her sanity in the midst of this chaos.

'Don't worry about it,' the blue-haired teenager smiled and he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Like Hikari, he was also deeply bothered by Takeru's weird behaviour lately, and he agreed immediately when Hikari called him to see if he could accompany her for this visit. It was only a week ago that they shared their conversation with Miyako, Daisuke and Iori about Takeru, and today Hikari said that she wanted to solve the problem, once and for all. She could not bear not talking to Takeru for weeks, and Ken could not object to that. He, too, wanted his friend back.

He looked at his watch, and it was five in the early evening. Takeru should be home. He knocked on the door and waited for the response. Hikari fidgeted on her white dress nervously, while Ken, in his black jacket and blue jeans, waited patiently.

After a few seconds, the stumbling figure of the blond they wanted to meet appeared. Takeru widened his eyes, as if he did not believe they were there, and urged them in a weak, hushed voice. 'What are you two doing here?'

Ken could sense something was wrong. There was urgency in his voice, like he was being monitored, and he did not fail to notice the mixture of relief and fear on his face.

'Takeru, we're here to help.' The blue-haired boy chose his words calmly as he eyed him curiously, trying to figure out why he looked so frightened and desperate. Hikari was relieved to know that at least Takeru was not ignoring them totally, but her heart ached at the weak state of his being. She frowned with concern in her eyes, and Takeru did not miss that.

The teenager stared at them without saying anything. One would have thought that he was provoking them with this unbearable silence, but the visitors to the Takaishi residence knew that they needed to give him space to talk. Takeru was never an expressive person to begin with, and they knew that the further they forcefully pushed him, the more resistant he would become.

The tension between them rose, and Hikari did not like it. She was on the verge of crying now by seeing Takeru's terrible, lifeless state. 'Takeru…please…give us a chance…' she pleaded, reaching out her hand to squeeze his. The sixteen-year-old did not resist this time, and Hikari could feel the bone under his skin. Since when had his hand become so thin? The very thought itself scared her and made her even more worried.

Takeru lowered his head to look at her hand. His fingers gently touched hers, treasuring the feeling of her skin that he had not sensed in quite a while. He closed his eyes, and Ken and Hikari held their breaths, their hearts beating fast as they anticipated seeing his lips parted.

'Give me a minute to change,' was all he said as he closed the door.

* * *

_End of Chapter 2_

* * *

I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Please kindly review to let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews and interest in this story that you, my kind readers, have submitted and expressed. I'm glad that you guys enjoy my fanfic despite its dark themes and content. I don't usually write stories as dark as such, so it's rather challenging and exciting for me to do so.

To my reviewer Angemon, whom I didn't get to pm my explanation: Am I making excuse to abuse Takeru? Partly yes, since this is the whole idea of the story, even if Takeru has been my favourite character of the whole Digimon series since 01. As I explained in the first chapter, this whole idea just suddenly came to my mind one day, and I just decided to write it down. I didn't include the Inoues and the Hidas because I am not really fond of Miyako and Iori, so I don't want them (or their family) to play too big of a role in my story (which also explains why I include Ken, as Takeru and Hikari's best friend, in this story – I just like him a lot). And if you're referring to Kido Jou (the med student and Gomamon's partner), his crest is 'reliability' or 'honesty', depending on the translation you pick, which I think neither equates 'faith'. I really wish we can just pm each other so I can explain my settings to you clearly, and I will gladly answer your further questions.

On the other hand, I thought about including more Taichi and Yamato in the story as well, since obviously they are important persons in Hikari and Takeru's lives. Yet then I decide against it, since I want to focus more on the young couple here and I intend for this story to be 5-chapter-long only, with each chapter containing about 4000-5000 words, which is a good chapter length for me personally. Having more Taichi and Yamato in it might spoil my fun in this. I hope you all can understand that if you're wondering where the brothers are in the story.

That's probably enough of my rant. Hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well.

As usual, I recommend everyone to read in 1/2 page size to get the feeling of reading a book.

* * *

_Chapter 3_

* * *

The three sat in silence in the park nearby. Minutes had passed without any communication between the three parties. Hikari stole occasional glances at her companion nervously. She felt strange that she could sit next to him yet was unable to hold him. Even if she did, she knew deep inside he would resist her touch, just like how he had done so a few days ago. Her fingers timidly intertwined with the edge of her white dress, and she mostly had her eyes on her shoes.

Takeru looked lifeless, still. He had his green fleece jacket on while he crossed his legs and leaned back on the bench they were sitting on, looking at the trees around him aimlessly. Hikari could not read his expression. No trace of emotion betrayed his face, and that frightened her even more. She had always been able to read his mind and know what he was thinking, but now she just couldn't. He didn't look anything like the Takeru she had known since she was eight, when she was first thrown into the world of digital monsters.

Ken looked at his friends uneasily. He knew that it actually would be better if he left and let Hikari and Takeru talked over it, as they were always closest to each other, however worried he was about his friend. Yet, at the same time, as fragile as Takeru was, Hikari wasn't any better at this state. He knew Hikari was a strong girl, much stronger than anyone he knew, but occasionally she also relied on others for support, and such was the time. Apart from that, the former child of darkness had gotten a lot closer to the couple after his family moved to stay in Obaida. Whether it was because of their association and past experience with darkness, he did not know, but it was indeed easy to get along with these two, who were very willing to accept him as a loyal friend. He was the one they turned to for second opinion when they had any problem in their relationship, and he had always been grateful for their trust in him, given what he had done to the Digital World years ago. That was why he did not hesitate when Hikari called him and asked to visit Takeru together. He, too, wanted an answer.

Yet that was easier said than done. In a clinical setting, it was impossible to heal the patient if he did not want to help himself. A treatment was only fruitful when both parties, the therapist and the patient, were determined to achieve a positive outcome. Now the problem lay in that no one was sure if Takeru even wanted help at all. Yes, he was a reserved person, but what he had been doing in the past weeks exceeded what one would have expected from someone who treasured his privacy deeply. He was pushing others away, and pushing himself away from his life. When such a case occurred, Ken wondered, could he or Hikari possibly pull him out of this trough?

The fading colour of the sun shone on them as the silence grew. The gentle November breeze embraced them now and then. They shivered slightly, but their coats were warm enough to keep them in this state for a while. There weren't many people in the park at this hour, and those who were present were usually couples with happy grins on their faces, which did not ease Ken's mind as he looked nervously at both Hikari and Takeru. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they seemed too absorbed in their own thoughts to have paid any attention to their surroundings.

'I miss this,' the voice of Takeru startled the other two teenagers, 'just us, hanging out in the park, so relaxing and carefree…'

Neither Ken nor Hikari knew how to respond to that, as images before recent weeks drew them into deep thoughts. They sometimes spent time in the park together, just chatting about anything funny or serious. Occasionally the other digidestined would join them, but this place seemed more like a sanctuary for the three of them. No matter how busy they were, they would always make an effort to meeting up with each other.

'I should go back now.' Takeru interjected their reminiscence, and the perplexed look on Ken and Hikari's faces made him feel guilty about ending their meeting abruptly. Yet when he looked at the clock nearby he knew he had to go back, for Tanaka would be back home soon, and the man would not appreciate him leaving the apartment without his consent. Takeru stood and nodded at the two stunned figures on the bench and, hiding his pained expression from them, started to walk away.

'Takeru…'

'Stop right there, Takaishi.'

And Takeru did pause, taking an internal battle within his own mind on if he should turn back to face the girl who just addressed him by his last name. Even when they had arguments before, Hikari never called him in that manner, with that menacing tone. The fallen leaves on the ground withered as her voice penetrated his mind.

'We…who are we to you, Takeru?' Her voice began to shake as the brunette rose, and Ken noticed that her body was shaking as well, her fists clutched tightly. 'Are we that insignificant in your life that we are not worth talking to? I am your…we are your best friends, Takeru,' the boys could hear a sob escaped from her mouth, 'and seeing you in pain saddens us too…can't you at least let us know why you've been acting so weirdly over the past week? Can't you at least tell me…why that you're so distant and cold now...? Why can't I rely on you when I feel alone…when you just…when you just…' Hikari could not go on as tears were forming in her eyes, and her heart ached so much seeing his back walking away from them. His tall shadow dawned on her like despair in solid form.

Ken watched the scene in desperation. What Hikari felt and thought was clear to him. What troubled him, however, was Takeru's reaction. The boy was shaking as well, but Ken could tell he was trying so hard to hold back his emotion. There were a few times when he saw Takeru's feet turned to their direction, only then to pause and return to the opposite position of where they were standing. He saw Takeru tremble at Hikari's words as he closed his eyes, like he was trying to get Hikari's words off his mind. He noticed Takeru open his mouth a few times, only to shut it shortly afterwards before he finally muttered two words to them.

'I'm sorry.'

Then he raised his legs and ran, away from them and away from the park, away from their concern and their compassion. His shadow faded into the air as he was now out of their sight.

Ken hopelessly watched his best friend turning his back on them, and Hikari sank to the ground, kneeling and sobbing silently. He wasn't sure who needed more comfort right now. His mind felt numb as he slowly walked Hikari back to the bench and let her sob on his shoulder, giving her a friendly hug while he tried to formulate what he had just seen. Takeru's behaviour kept bothering him more and more, and this time he had been paying special attention to his little habit.

There were several questions in his mind. Firstly, why couldn't they talk in Takeru's apartment when they knocked on his door? Why in the park? Wouldn't it be easier to just go through things in his room? Unless…unless Takeru wanted to get out of there. Yet that brought him to his second question: why was he in such a hurry to leave? They had been in the park for roughly half an hour, and his hushed voice when answering the door came back to the child prodigy's mind. Takeru wanted to get out of the apartment, but he was in a hurry to go back. His constant attention at the clocks in the park and his own watch affirmed that train of thought. Then, thirdly, why did Takeru flinch and retreat when Hikari reached out her hand to touch him, days ago? It was an open secret that Takeru was hiding something from Hikari, and everyone else, for that matter, but then, Takeru did not back away today when Hikari touched his hand. Why was there such a difference? Fourthly, Takeru looked relaxed, for the first time in weeks, when they were sitting in the park. His statement about missing the place bothered the blue-haired genius, that he only managed to achieve a twisted kind of peace of mind when he was here, a state that he could not have achieved when he was at his place.

Ken quickly drew his conclusion based on his questions. One, there was something in Takeru's apartment that frightened him, that made him want to leave. Two, whatever was behind the cause of his anxiety also had the power to draw him back, as he dared not to stay outside for too long. Three, this thing was not something simple, or something that simply went out of control in his relationship with other people. It was something that he was still suffering from, regardless of when it exactly happened. Time frame: these recent weeks; three weeks, to be precise. Takeru's mother left a month ago, and he was by himself in the apartment…

No, wait. Something clicked in Ken's mind, as he was trying to look for the missing puzzle in his picture. And as if Hikari could read his mind, the brown-haired brunette muttered the magic phrase, 'Tanaka-san…'

Ken's eyes widened, and so did Hikari's. The girl rose and looked at the boy, her eyes now glistering with realization. 'Natsuko-san left a month ago, right? And then Takeru mentioned about his mother's boyfriend staying with him in the meantime. Takeru has been acting funny some time after Natsuko-san left…it all fits, Ken! Something happens between Takeru and Tanaka-san that causes Takeru to act like this!'

Without waiting for Ken to respond, Hikari jumped and started sprinting out of the park. Ken followed suit and caught up with her easily, given his training in football. As they were running side by side, he told her about his deductions on the whole matter as well, and both were now determined to go to their destination to get their final answer.

* * *

Takeru stared at the front door of his apartment, wondering for the first time in his life why the door was purely white with no stains of aged marks on it, even though the apartment building he lived in had stood on the same spot for decades without any renovation. He had just stepped out of the elevator, and had remained on his spot for five still minutes already. Something about the door fascinated him.

He could hear the barely audible laughter of his neighbour's children passing into his ears. Those sweet voices went through his ears and got stuck in his head, torturing his senses and he closed his eyes, trying to isolate that sound from his misery. It was so unbearable to him that he felt his heart pumping faster than usual and he started to pant for breath. Separated by tall doors and solid walls, he wondered if the children ever heard his screams at night.

He sighed for the umpteenth time and reached for his pocket, grabbing the silvery key and pushed it into the keyhole. Making a little twist with his wrist, the clear sound of an open door came, and he mentally prepared himself for what was to come tonight. It was Saturday, so Tanaka would be home by around six, as he always had to work on Saturday afternoon. The man never told him, but Takeru had peaked at his work schedule before so that he could know when he had to be at home. Tanaka got upset easily if he was not, and Takeru was just trying to play the safer card, even though he was aware he had no chance of winning the game that the man started.

His eyes narrowed as he thought back to all the suffering he had had so far. It only got worse. At first it was just physical beating after Tanaka was drunk, but it later became the case that he enjoyed seeing the teenager in pain whether he smelt like alcohol or not. Then as more bruises began to form on the blond's limbs, the man decided to release his libido through him as well, along with other creative measures of making him tremble by just remembering. Images of different treatments he had endured so far flooded his mind as he was unsure what would happen tonight. If Tanaka was in a good mood, then he might just get a few cuts. But if not…

It came off as a surprise to him that Hikari and Ken, the Child of Light and the Child of Kindness, would come to see him today. He thought he had successfully, albeit pitifully, shoved them out of his miserable life, but they were very insistent on this matter. He didn't even know why he had agreed to going to the park with them. Maybe he was just reminiscing the good old times when he could hang out with his best friends without a care in the world? Maybe he was just longing for the physical intimacy with Hikari that he treasured so much? Maybe he was just hoping a change of scene could make him feel better and more prepared for the long night to come?

Yagami Hikari. The Child of Light. She haunted him like a recurring nightmare. He wanted desperately to get her out of this. He knew she would get worried, but he was wearier of the possibility that once she knew she would try to do something, and would fail, and Tanaka would get to her.

And that would be Takeru's ultimate downfall. Takeru could never, ever, stand to see her getting hurt by him. Seeing her cry back in the park already pained him, but he could not think of what else he could do.

He was too absorbed in his thought that he did not notice a brown-haired girl walking out of the elevator. It was until he heard his name being called, by that all-too-familiar angelic voice that had always been nothing but pleasing to his ears, that he flinched and tried to shut the door before she could walk in. He could hear her squealed unexpectedly as the door made contact with her shoulder, but she stood to her ground and tried her best to resist his push.

Takeru cursed at how strong the girl was. Likewise, he was slamming the door with his shoulder, feeling the friction burning on his shoes as they slid on the floor, and in a split second he was tumbling on the ground, looking in horror as Ken joined in and helped Hikari push the door open. The two of them were panting hard, and Ken quickly walked in to prevent Takeru from getting up and forcing them out of his apartment. Hikari quickly entered as well and closed the door behind her.

'What are you doing…' Takeru hissed angrily, not making eye contact with either of his friend. 'What are you doing…just go…please…' He pleaded helplessly, his arms that were supporting his body on the ground suddenly grew weak and he felt his legs paralyzed. Both Ken and Hikari looked at him worriedly, but they had already made up their mind by running here. This had to be solved today, and they would not leave without any answer.

'Tell us, Takeru. Tell us what has been bothering you.' Ken grumbled quietly.

Takeru rolled his eyes at how stubborn his friends were. What was he to tell them, anyway? That the man his mother trusted abused him? That he treated him worse than a slave? That he raped him? What was he to say? Would they even believe him? That a respected police officer was a wolf in the skin of a lamb? How could he turn someone protecting the law into someone violating the law itself? How could he justify that?

He couldn't think logically now as he realized the time. Images of Tanaka meeting Hikari and Ken flashed in his mind and his eyes widened in fear. 'Just go…please…he would be here soon…you have to leave…' He stood and began to rumble frantically, and Ken and Hikari could only grasp some of his words.

'He? Who is he? Takeru…do you mean Tanaka-san?' Hikari innocently asked and noticed Takeru's eyes widened in fear, his face paled and drained without any shade of susceptible colour left. The pair watched in confusion as Takeru began to wildly scratch his hair and paced around in circles.

'Takeru, what in the world is going on?' He ignored her plead, keeping on his action and urging them to go away as soon as possible. Takeru's reaction to the man's name confirmed their suspicion about what was happening, but still, they were not sure why the mere mention of his name would cause the calm, thoughtful Takeru they knew to become a scared, disorganized child.

'JUST LEAVE!' The blond snapped out of this thought and pushed them suddenly towards the door, forcing them out. The two resisted and they engaged in an obstinate battle of strength, with Takeru yelling at them to go away. 'LEAVE NOW! DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU!'

'Takeru!' Hikari could not stand it anymore and rushed forward to embrace her trembling boyfriend, trying to restrict his frantic movements. Takeru yelped and struggled, trying to get out of her arms, but Hikari wrapped her arms around his arms and chest tightly to prevent him from moving vigorously. She hoped that he would calm down. He only screamed more.

'TAKERU! STOP IT!' Takeru began to kick his legs, and while Hikari received a few blows due to that, she refused to let go of him. Tears began to flow uncontrollably from Hikari's eyes, but her attention remained on the boy's weakened form. Never in her life had she thought a day like this would happen. So much had been going recently that her tear glands just exploded. She had been carrying so much stress that seeing Takeru battling with her actually made her relax and feel more alive than ever before.

What seemed like hours to them finally ended in Takeru's surrender as he sank to the ground, with Hikari still holding him from behind, kneeling, hugging him affectionately while sobbing silent tears. It was only by then that Ken noticed Takeru was crying too, as he choked on his own sobs somewhat agitatedly.

Ken watched in amazement of how Takeru just freaked out in front of him, and how Hikari, with her petit, fragile-looking body, managed to ease his panic attack. The kneeling figures now did not move an inch, and the soft wails that escaped their mouths echoed in the apartment. Takeru still refused to look at them, and Hikari wrapped her arms around him more protectively than she had. She pressed her body against him, offering him the warmth and support that he missed so much. He gulped and his shoulders relaxed for the first time since Ken and Hikari set foot in the apartment.

Slowly and gently, he broke from her embrace and turned to look at her. Hikari could see flicks of pain and helplessness in his ocean blue eyes, the orbs that usually glistered in brightness. He raised his right hand and caressed her cheeks, and she acted the same way with both hands. Even his skin felt dry and lifeless.

'Hikari, I…' he choked on his words and tears were beginning to form in his eyes again. Words were lost, and Hikari, giving him a small yet firm smile, put her finger on his lips.

'Ssshhhh,' she whispered, her free hand still touching his cheek and feeling his presence. She knew she wanted answers. She knew she wanted to know what had happened. She knew she wanted to be with him again so badly that her brain was actually screaming at her to just kiss him senseless. Yet at the same time, she knew she had to give Takeru space. She, of all people, knew that Takeru did not like to be pressurized to talk, especially when it involved his inner world. When he felt safe and secure, he would talk, and Hikari would listen. That's why Hikari knew right now, at that moment, all she needed to offer was her support as his best friend, his girlfriend, and that he needed to know no matter what happened, she would always be by his side.

'I'll always be with you, Takeru.'

Her tone was so soft, so firm, so strong that Takeru felt like he was about to cry again. After all these times, all these suffering, turning his back on everyone he knew, he finally sensed some hope that he had lost for so long. Seeing the light in her chocolate eyes, his lips twisted upwards, albeit only slightly and barely noticeable.

That was when he heard the sound of the elevator arriving at his level, and he panicked again. Weeks of training had granted him the ability to hear things happening outside of his apartment, for he always looked for cues to see if Tanaka was coming back. Hikari saw his expression tensed as he quickly rose, bringing her up with him as well. 'He's back…' The blond murmured, and quickly reached for Hikari and Ken's wrists and pulled them into his room. They did not even have a chance to protest, or observe his messy room clearly, when he shoved them into his wardrobe, putting them behind his hanging shirts and coats. Takeru wordlessly and restlessly pushed them backwards until they were camouflaged by his clothes. Takeru stepped back and had his hands on the wardrobe door. He looked at his companions who were completely dumbfounded by his actions.

'Stay here, and no matter what happen, _do not_ come out, and _do not _make a sound. I'll try to sneak you guys out later.' He speedily hissed, wiping his eyes with his sleeves, as if speaking up would cause the world to collapse. He gave them one last look before pushing the wardrobe door to near closure, so that they would have some air. Hikari and Ken could hear his rapid footsteps leaving the room, and the sound of the front door being forced open reached them.

'Where are you, boy?' They heard a ruffled voice bellowing from the direction of the front door as soon as the door was closed. The voice sent shivers down their spine, confirming their suspicion of what caused Takeru to step away from everyone else. So the owner of the voice, Tanaka Ryusuuke, they reckoned, was the reason.

'Did you go out today?' They heard him raise his voice again, and his tone was unpleasant to their ears. It sounded like the man was drunk at six in the evening. Although the sky had turned dark already, it wasn't the usual hour for people to start consuming alcohol, not to mention when there was a teenager living in the same apartment.

'No, not at all.' Takeru timidly replied. His voice was so soft that Ken and Hikari could barely hear him, but they were not entirely surprised that Takeru lied to his question. They knew something was wrong with the man, and Takeru was trying to please him, also attempting not to let Tanaka know about their presence here. They continued to listen to their conversation while adjusting their positions to make themselves comfortable enough to sit inside the wardrobe.

'Then why are you dressed like you've just been out?' He was suspicious.

'…I went down to get the mail.'

Fortunately, the middle-aged man seemed to believe him, and stopped asking further questions. 'Go make some dinner. I have a football game to watch tonight.' The blond complied and went into the kitchen to prepare the food, while Tanaka went to the room he shared with Natsuko and threw his coat on the bed, putting his case on the desk and worked on some of the documents from his work.

After a while, making sure that Tanaka was occupied with his work, Takeru sneaked into his room to give Ken and Hikari some water and snacks, and also passed them a note. 'He probably will go out after the game to go to the bar. Wait here for a couple of hours. I'll get you two out by then. Meanwhile, STAY HERE AND DON'T MAKE ANY SOUND.' He emphasized the last sentence by pointing it to them when he passed them the note. He turned on the light of his room temporarily so that they could read it, and they nodded in response.

Before Takeru left, Hikari reached for his hand and squeezed it. He stopped and looked back at her, who gave him a reassuring nod and a gentle smile. Takeru looked at her worried crimson eyes with a soft expression, and gave her a very small, apologetic smile, before turning off the light of the room and made his way back to the master bedroom. 'Food will be ready in fifteen minutes,' he told the man, who mumbled something incoherent in response. He then returned to the kitchen and tossed the vegetable onto the frying pan. The sparkling oil snapped as Takeru looked at his hand, remembering Hikari's touch a minute ago. He gently touched his finger tips with his thumb, feeling the sensation she had exhibited.

Then he smiled.

* * *

_End of Chapter 3_

* * *

That's all for now. I hope you like it as much as I enjoy writing it. I'm revising the ending of this story now, and will upload the next chapter maybe in a week or two. I'm also working on a Takari one-shot at the same time, so maybe I'll spend more time on that for the moment and hopefully get it published before uploading the next chapter.

Please kindly review to let me know what you think! Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks everyone for the continuing support. This chapter will include more actions (something that I'm not particularly good at writing about), and I wonder how people will react when reaching the end of this chapter. Let's just say I hope it will be surprising. It's one scene that got stuck in my mind when I first thought about the plot of this story, so I couldn't resist the temptation of writing that down.

I briefly explained why I didn't include much Taichi and Yamato scenes in this story. To elaborate on that, the point is that Takeru was not telling anyone about Tanaka's abuse. Not even his mother or Hikari knew about that. He was trying to hide them all. You can say he did not want others' pity and was generally confused over what exactly to do, as discussed in his struggle in previous chapters. Yamato said that he sounded fine when he talked to him on phone, and Taichi only knew that Hikari was unhappy due to Takeru's cold shoulder lately. However, I don't want to portray them as the hot-blooded overly protective brothers who would just resolve everything with their fists. They were still protective, but Taichi was trying to give space to Hikari to solve her problem, while Yamato was about to deal with the issue of Takeru when he got back from his tour with his band.

I indeed spend quite some time thinking how different the story will turn out to be if either Taichi or Yamato found out before Hikari and Ken confronted him about it, but I may leave that as a what-if story in the future. Or if anyone is interested in writing that kind of what-if story, I'll be happy to read it too. Just let me know.

As usual, I recommend everyone to read in ½ page size to get the feeling of reading a book.

* * *

_Chapter 4_

* * *

Takeru looked at the clock nervously. It was half past eight and Tanaka's game still got fifteen more minutes to go. They had finished dinner an hour ago and Takeru retreated to his room after cleaning the dishes. He walked to the wardrobe to check on his friends, and found them leaning on each other, sleeping. He gave a weak smile. It must have been a long day for them, he thought, and honestly he expected them to have some rest after staying in the wardrobe for more than two hours. It was lucky that his wardrobe was big enough for them to sit inside without feeling too uncomfortable.

He heard the phone ring and Tanaka, grumpily, answered the phone. Takeru sighed, hoping it was the man's friends calling for him to go to the bar. The police officer usually spent his Saturday night in the bar with his friends or colleagues (whom exactly, he never really bothered to know. As far as he was concerned, they weren't law-abiding citizens either) and came back late, occasionally heavily drunk. The sixteen-year-old hoped that the man would leave as soon as possible. His presence alone bothered him, and the peaceful countenances of Ken and Hikari reminded him that they had to go if they were to stay safe.

Figuring he would not be able to sneak his friends out when Tanaka was still in the apartment, he grabbed a book from his bookshelf and started to read. Books were his best companion during this hard time of his life. He just seemed to always find comfort in flipping over pages and reading the words and wisdom of authors he liked. Hikari once teased that he should be a writer given the number of books he read. He laughed it off at that time, but when he started to write random drabbles on his notebook, he wondered if he should give more serious thoughts about it. Apart from reading, writing seemed to be the most effective way to relax his mind. Besides, the magical setting of the Digital World alone was enough materials for him to write about, if he ever intended to pursue a professional writing career.

Fifteen minutes had passed and Takeru was surprised to find Tanaka standing by his door, holding two cans of beer in his hand. Takeru closed his book and rose to meet the man. Whenever the man wanted him, he would just yell from the living room. The only time he would step into his room was when he wanted to…

It would be horrible if such atrocity happened when Hikari and Ken were in his room, he gulped.

The second surprise of the night came when Tanaka handed him one can of beer. 'Here, drink this.' He eyed the can doubtfully, wondering if he had added some drugs to the can, but nevertheless he took it from his hand. 'C'mon. Open it. Drink it.' He ordered, and Takeru hesitantly obeyed. While he knew that legally he should not be drinking it, it wasn't the first time he had tasted alcohol anyway. Having a rock star brother meant that Takeru was constantly invited to hang out with his brother's band, and alcohol was certainly involved when they were together. Also, Takeru consumed the liquid that he didn't really like on those sleepless nights when Tanaka had spent time in his room. It was easier to sleep after consuming the liquid. It made him think less of the pain he had suffered from.

'Cheers.' Tanaka raised his can and swallowed the beer. Takeru took brief sips of his can, still trying to figure out why he sounded rather pleasant, like the time when his mother first introduced him.

'Your mother is dead.'

He choked.

Third surprise.

'It was a car accident. She was in a taxi. I got the call from her company just now.'

The phone call that rang fifteen minutes ago…

Takeru felt his vision blurred, and everything in the room began to twist into weird shapes. Tanaka's indifferent, almost happy tone, as if announcing to him the football game had just ended, echoed in his mind. He raised his head to look at the dark-haired man, who kept consuming his can of beer, ignoring the glances the young blond sent him.

His mother was dead. The woman who was there for his entire life had died. The woman who raised him by herself, after her divorce with his father, was gone, just like that. The woman whom he thought would save him from this living hell was no longer here.

He didn't know how he should handle this piece of news. His mind went blank for a second, and then he wasn't sure if he had just imagined a smirk appearing on Tanaka's face. His world just collapsed, and Tanaka just kept drinking his beer.

Why the hell were they drinking? Was it to celebrate? In honour of his mother's death?

Thinking about this enraged him. He clenched his fists and, without thinking about the consequence, he threw his can of beer straight at the man standing by his room's door. Tanaka was taken aback and did not react in time to avoid the incoming attack. The can hit his chest and the beer content spilt on his shirt and trousers as the can dropped to the ground, producing a metal sound as it hit the ground for a few times before collapsing faintly.

'Why you…' Before allowing the man to speak, Takeru jumped at him and pushed him to the ground, ignoring the fact that his past attempts to fight the man all ended in misery. He randomly threw punches at the man as angry tears were threatening to escape his eyes. He forgot that he was supposed to let Ken and Hikari leave the apartment after the man went out for a drink. At that single moment, he forgot about their existence in his room. He could not stand that the man could treat his mother's death like it was something so small, so insignificant. Furthermore, _he_ gave _him_ a can of beer before breaking the news to him. It was like he was mocking him, telling him that it was such good news. There was no way he could forgive him for that.

'Murderer!' Takeru yelled at him. 'You killed her! It was you who killed her!' He put his hands around Tanaka's neck and tried to strangle him, the consequence of his successful attempt slipped from his mind as anger and frustration took control of his mind. All he could think about was how to make this man in front of him disappear completely from his miserable life.

His attempt faltered again as Tanaka grabbed his hands and pinned them to the ground, throwing himself on top of him. Takeru tried to struggle out of the man's grip, but just like the many times beforehand, he was not strong enough to break free of his hold, even when he was in an aggressive state. 'You little piece of ungrateful shit,' Tanaka cursed. 'Be more grateful of what I have provided. I give you food and a place to live. I could have easily kicked you out at any moment now.'

'You don't live here…' Takeru barked as he was still trying to get off the man, who now was sitting on his stomach. 'You are not my family…' Tanaka let go of his hands, and slapped his face instead. Takeru's head hit the ground, and he groaned at the impact.

'Time to teach you some manner.' Tanaka murmured, and he removed his belt and swung it at the teenage boy. Takeru gasped in pain as the belt hit some of his previous wounds on his face and on his body. He defended himself with his arms, and curled himself into fetal position. Tanaka either hit him with his belt or kicked whichever spot of his body that was defenceless. Takeru watched in horror as the man then began to unzip his trousers and turned his body around. _Not again_, Takeru thought, as he tried to gather the remaining strength he had to run away, but he couldn't. His limbs were too weak and in pain after receiving so many blows from the man.

But then he felt Tanaka's hand left his thighs. He blinked a couple times, only to find a brown-haired brunette in white dress crashing into the middle-aged man, and a blue-haired teenager in brown shirt and blue jeans trying to restrain the man's hands. _Hikari, Ken_…it was only then that Takeru remembered they were in the room. He forgot about them when rage took over his mind, when Tanaka unveiled the news to him. He was too infuriated that he did not notice the pair had woken up when Tanaka walked in and gave him the beer. They had been listening to the whole conversation between them, and were shocked to learn the death of Takaishi Natsuko. Yet they were stunned to see what came afterwards. They froze when they saw Tanaka hitting Takeru in front of their eyelids, whipping him with his belt mercilessly.

Now the puzzle had been completed.

Hikari had wanted to jump out and shield Takeru with her body right at the moment Tanaka began hitting him, but Ken stopped her, whispering in her ears that they would do no good when Tanaka still had a weapon, namely, his belt, in hand, and they would have to surprise him in order to gain the advantage. Sheer horror filled their faces when Tanaka began to take off his trousers and positioned Takeru. It was the moment that they knew they could not step back any longer, and the perfect moment to lay their offence. Hikari jumped from the wardrobe and tackled the man into the wall nearby, and Ken tried to clap the man's hands on his back, hoping to restrain further actions from him. He tried to trap his hands with the man's belt that lay conveniently by his side, and the man was still too stunned to recover from all this to resist.

'TAKERU!' Hikari, regaining her balance, rushed to her boyfriend's side and assessed his wounds. She rolled up his sleeves and watched with a painful expression at the new wounds and old bruises on his body. 'Oh, Takeru…' she frantically hugged him and began to cry. Takeru knew she was now blaming herself for what had happened as she pressed her slender body against his. It was just so Hikari-like to blame herself for the misfortune of other people, even when she played no part of it. Takeru just gave a relaxed sigh and embraced Hikari. Briefly.

Seeing Ken being tossed aside startled the couple and they broke from the embrace. Tanaka was now standing proudly with Ken in his arm. The blue-haired boy's hands were handcuffed with his belt tightly, as Takeru could see blood draining from Ken's hands. The man then eyed the couple who was now lying next to the bed. Instinctively, Takeru stood in front of Hikari and shielded her with his body, blocking Tanaka's view of the girl, even though his knees were trembling as well. The man smirked.

'You should have told me we have guests, Takeru-chan.' His voice was menacingly sarcastic as Takeru shivered. Hikari slowly rose and stood behind the blond, her eyes drifting from Tanaka to Ken, who had a pained expression on his face. 'Now, no need to be shy, little girl. Just come out and introduce yourself.'

'Don't you dare talk to her!' Takeru barked, and Tanaka just snorted. 'Kids these days, really no manner at all.' Ken was still struggling in his arms. The man was much stronger than he thought, and his struggle only made Tanaka grip harder. Using his free hand, Tanaka chopped on inches down his neck swiftly, like what he usually did when dealing with lawbreakers, and Ken lost consciousness after that. Tanaka threw him on Takeru's bed, as now he had one less troublemaker to deal with.

'Now,' he started, moving closer to the couple inch by inch, 'Takeru-chan, do you really think it's a good idea not to listen to me? Look at your friend,' he pointed at the fainted Ken, 'that _you_ fail to protect.' Takeru gritted his teeth and took a step back, as Hikari did the same thing in fear. 'If you promise to be a good boy again, then we can still figure this out, Takeru-chan.'

A thousand thoughts were running in Takeru's mind, but all failed to answer the important question: how to get out of here while keeping both Hikari and Ken safe? Heck, he wasn't sure if he could walk out of this door unharmed if he was by himself. He knew from his previous encounters with Tanaka that he would not be able to defeat this guy, and now Hikari was relying on him. Yes, Hikari. Sweet, pure, innocent Hikari. He blinked hard to register that to his mind. The lustful eyes of the dark-haired man told him that she had to get out of here.

There was no way he would allow him to hurt her.

As Tanaka took another step closer, Takeru decided to strike. Despite the fact that his limbs still ached in pain, the blond sprung to his feet and threw himself at Tanaka's legs, hoping he would lose his balance. Both fell to the ground as that happened, and Takeru immediately reached for Tanaka's hands. 'HIKARI, RUN!' He yelled back while he fought Tanaka. 'GET OUT OF HERE NOW, HIKARI!'

Hikari knew that in usual circumstances she would not move and would argue with him instead, like what she saw in those Hollywood movies where the male protagonist urged his partner to leave while he dealt with the danger and let the female character flee. Yet this time she knew that they could not do it alone. They needed help, and she would get help. Ken was already down, and Takeru was relying on her to find someone to help them. She started to sprint out of the room…

...only to stop her footsteps as she heard Takeru yell in suffering. She looked back and saw Takeru falling to the ground, holding his feet. Blood was pouring out from his ankle. Hikari gasped and turned her attention to Tanaka's hand. He was holding a distorted beer can, and the pointed edge of the can was dropping blood on the floor. It was the can that Takeru threw at him a moment ago.

She wasn't that far from the door, but Tanaka was faster in grasping her wrist and pinning her towards the wall. She moaned at the impact her back suffered from and opened her eyes in fear, as she was met with a pair of dark, sadistic orbs that were burning with wrath and lust.

'You look better than in pictures, young lady,' the man smirked as he inhaled the scent of her strawberry perfume. Hikari turned her face away, disgusted, and tried to avoid his alcoholic breath. 'Now I know why Takeru-chan treasures you so much…' His hand began to move around her waist, and Hikari endeavoured to get his hand off her skin.

'DON'T TOUCH HER!' Takeru yelled and lunged forward to grab Tanaka's feet again, only to receive a kick in the head by the tall man. He proceeded to kick the blond in the stomach, causing him to cough out blood. When he fell to the ground, Takeru felt everything in front of him circulating in weird motions. He blinked hard to try to get adjusted to this dizzy vision, but his head felt very heavy now as he struggled to remain conscious. Darkness began to dawn on him as he lay motionless on the ground, to the horror of the Child of Light.

'Why don't we have some fun in the other room, little girl?' His tone frightened her, and he pulled her out of the room forcefully.

'GET OFF ME!' Hikari screamed and tried to hit the man, but he acted like her attacks were just scratches to his skin. 'NO! GET OFF ME!' She kept screaming and, despite her best attempt to resist his pull, he took her out of Takeru's room, brought her across the living room, and found herself landed on the master bedroom's bed. She shrieked and retreated to the back of the wall, her eyes widened in fear and her legs trembled. She knew what this meant. She knew what he was going to do to her.

'SHUT UP!' He slapped her on her cheek with force, and Hikari felt her face burning with helplessness now. She reached for her cheek and felt the sudden pain and hotness on it. 'Now,' he crawled on the bed and moved closer to her, 'be a good girl.'

'NO!' Hikari resumed her fight and threw random punches and kicks at the man, only to have him smirk harder. He was clearly enjoying this, and to him Hikari's pathetic attempt to escape was just a delightful foreplay before he enjoyed his prey. He advanced and pressed his lips on her neck, her stomach, and her thighs, while his hands began to explore her developing sixteen years old body. Hikari paled and watched with a horrid expression when she felt him touching her. She kept defending herself, grabbing a hard object on the cabinet next to the bed and threw it at his face, and that made him stop momentarily.

Tanaka was quick to recover from this attempt, though. He touched his bleeding left cheek and glared at the girl in front of him with his dark eyes. 'You…' He snarled and Hikari flinched, not sure what she should do next when she saw Tanaka raise his hand. She forced her eyes closed and waited for his strike to come.

Only that it didn't. Instead, she heard the man yelp and fell to the side of the bed. As he fell, Hikari noticed that blood was flowing from his knee. Then, she saw Takeru panting by the bed, his hand holding a kitchen knife. Her crimson eyes widened in surprise.

Takeru was never totally unconscious after Tanaka hit him in the head. When he heard Hikari scream, he battled his way through the living room, pulling his weakened legs to crawl across the distance. Yet he knew that in order to overcome the man, he needed a weapon. That was when he made his way to the kitchen and quickly grabbed the nearest knife he could find, and then stumbled into the master bedroom. What he saw horrified him, as he witnessed the man fondling the teenage girl as he wished. Takeru's face was flushed in anger and he dashed forward, just in time to stop Tanaka from slapping Hikari, and swiped the knife at his knee as hard as he could.

Without further ado, he ran to the bed to check if Hikari was harmed. 'Hikari, are you alright?' He asked in a frantic voice, weary of the possibility that Tanaka had already hurt her, and he looked over her body to check for any new wound. To his relief, he could not find any. Her white dress was torn here and there, but nothing major and it was still enough to cover her body without disgrace.

'TAKERU, BEHIND YOU!' Her frenzied voice snapped him back to the man whom he just stabbed, and in a swift second he was pinned to the ground, although he was still holding the knife tightly with his left hand. He felt Tanaka's weight on his body, and the man was trying to get the knife out of his hand.

'You son of a bitch!' He yelled at him, and Takeru could still smell the alcohol in his breath as his face inched closer. They struggled on the ground, one party trying to take control of the weapon and the other trying his best to hold on to it. Hikari tried to push the man away from her boyfriend, but Tanaka reacted in time to shove her aside, pushing her onto the desk in the room. A sharp pain raced through her body. She felt her spine ache and she could hardly move now.

Takeru, knowing that he did not have much strength left, threw the knife under the bed, in a safe distance such that Tanaka could not easily retrieve it. The tall man groaned and pushed him to the wall, hitting him a few times as Takeru dropped to the ground, panting for oxygen.

'I'll kill you both for this,' Tanaka hissed as he reached for the knife under the bed. 'I'll kill you both, and you'll have to watch your girlfriend suffer in front of you.' He threatened, as his voice lightened when he got the knife. He then moved towards Hikari, who could barely move now, as her back still hurt. Her eyes widened in panic again as she saw the man moving closer and closer, raising the knife in his hand.

'No…' she whispered, tears rushing out of her eyes. After so many struggles, she felt like they were still going to lose. Ken was still unconscious, and Takeru was barely alive now, after receiving so many hits from the man. All they tried to do was to figure out why Takeru had been acting strangely over the past weeks, and now the reason was standing in front of her, proudly, with a lethal weapon in his hand, ready to strike at any time.

And knowing what kind of horrible things he had done to Takeru only made her feel more miserable. Takeru had been her faithful knight, who watched over her when she was having a fever in the Digital World, who gave her hope when they were almost killed by evil digimons, who managed to cross over another dimension to rescue her when she was abducted to the Dark Ocean…it was so unfair. Why did anything like this have to happen to him? What had nice, sweet, cheerful Takeru done to deserve this? They had protected the world. Twice. And this was how kami-sama repaid them?

Takeru watched the scene in frustration. He wanted to jump in front of Hikari to protect her from Tanaka's charge. He wanted to get her out of here so he could at least protect her innocence. Taking a quick glance at his surroundings to find a weapon that he could use to, at least, stop the man's advance for a second, his eyes fell on the coat next to him. It was Tanaka's coat, the one that he wore to go to work, and a peculiar shape in the pocket of the coat stirred his curiosity. After realizing what it was, he immediately grabbed the object.

'Too late to beg now, little girl…' Tanaka was now several feet from Hikari, who was leaning on the crumbled desk for support. She wanted to fight back. She wanted to scream. She wanted to fight for him. Yet she couldn't. She was now weak and exhausted. When Ken had said that she was strong, he probably only meant for her will. There was nothing a strong will could do against an approaching menacing psychopath. She could only hope that she could miraculously be safe for now.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Takeru pointing something in their direction. She raised her eyebrows and gasped, seeing what he had in his hand. Tanaka also seemed to take notice of this, and turned slightly to look at what was behind his back. That moment of hesitation proved to be enough for him to lose his guard.

'LEAVE HER ALONE!' Takeru yelled with all his strength and, aiming the best he could, pulled the trigger of the pistol.

A loud bang echoed in the room, and in the next second, Tanaka stumbled a few steps backwards, put a hand on his right belly, feeling the blood rushing out of his body. Takeru did not stop and fired again, this time the bullet hitting him in the shoulder. Tanaka recoiled from the impact and widened his eyes in a mixture of pure shock and distress and, giving one last look at Takeru as if bemused by his determination and action, slowly fell to the ground.

Hikari was too stunned by the scene to let out any sound. She stared at the unconscious figure falling in front of her, and panic was still in her eyes. She looked back at Takeru, who also looked bewildered at what he had done. The blond was looking between the smoke rising from the head of the pistol, the falling figure, and Hikari who had a completely startled expression on her face. It was only then that his hand began to shake uncontrollably, and he dropped the pistol to the ground next to him. His ocean blue eyes reflected the fearfulness and surprise at his own action, but at the same time he was very relieved that he had just signalled the end of his nightmare.

Hikari, ignoring the pain in her back as much as she could, slowly crawled towards Takeru and put her hands on his face. She rested her forehead on his, and just kept holding him there. 'Takeru,' she murmured restlessly, 'oh Takeru, Takeru…' she kept muttering his name with her tired voice, and Takeru slowly wrapped his arms around her neck to pull her closer to him. He could feel tears streaming down his face, and so did Hikari. He gently patted the back of her head, and she kept drawing circles on his cheeks with her thumbs. He closed his eyes, listened to Hikari's murmur of his name, and he finally let out a sigh that he had been holding for so long.

'It's over, Hikari…it's over.'

* * *

_End of Chapter 4_

* * *

So, surprised? Outraged? Eyes widened? I keep wondering how polarized people may get over the gun scene. I know it sounds ridiculously random that Tanaka would have a gun after he got off work. I gave very subtle clues throughout the story that he was not really a responsible and law-abiding officer. I need a weapon there for Takeru, and at first I thought a knife would be good enough. Yet then, I figure, a gun would be more fun to add on to the dramatic effect, and the desire of Takeru to protect Hikari at that moment, for both were tired and not strong enough to deal with Tanaka physically. I want Takeru to have that 'loss of innocence' moment where he'd make a bold move to save Hikari ('loss of innocence' is really not the best way to describe that, for one could argue his innocence was already lost when the abuse began, but I couldn't figure out another appropriate term for what I'm imagining), so a gun it is.

The next chapter will be the last chapter of this story. It will be largely Takari-focus, but will also include characters like Taichi, Yamato and Ken. I think I'll also include a rather long author's note to explain my whole idea and key themes I want to include in this story. There's a lot more I want to say, but I'll save them for the last chapter.

Meanwhile, I've uploaded a Takari one-shot, _A Blink of an Eye_, a week ago. It has a more light-hearted plot and I quite enjoy writing that, so please take a look at that story as well. I'm also working on a new story that I'll probably upload the first chapter in a week or two, before uploading the final chapter of this story. It's a Ken-Takeru-Hikari friendship fic, with KenXOC (yaoi) and Takari elements in it. It's an interesting project for me for I haven't written any yaoi before (_You've got to hide your love away!_ doesn't really count, for it's more on humour than on romance) so I'm hoping to get it done soon too.

Please kindly review to let me know what you think! Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

As promised, here is the last chapter. I've included an author's note at the end of the chapter to explain more about the idea of the plot. You can read it to see what I was thinking about when I was writing this fic.

Hope you enjoy the last chapter! As usual, I recommend to read in ½ page size to give off the feeling of reading a book.

* * *

_Chapter 5_

* * *

Yagami Taichi gulped as he walked into the hospital area. It wasn't the first time he had been here since Takeru's incident took place, but every time he came here he got this nauseated feeling in his gut that made him want to leave the building as soon as possible. He never liked hospitals, anyway. When Hikari was young his parents frequented such places with her that he was afraid he would lose her one day, if her sickness suddenly got serious. He was only grateful that Hikari grew up to be a strong and healthy girl.

By the entrance, he saw a young child playing with his father in patient gown. The father beamed like it was the best of his time. The child accidentally fell on the ground and scratched his arms. He began to cry. The father immediately rushed to his side and comforted him, holding him tightly and whispering words of comfort into his tiny ears.

Taichi shivered.

_Taichi was damn worried. It was almost ten at night and he still could not contact Hikari. She was supposed to be at home hours ago for dinner. Yet she was absent and she never called, which was totally unlike her. She hadn't been answering her phone nor was she responding to his messages sent to her D-3. He tried calling Daisuke, MIyako, and Iori, but they all did not know where she was. Curiously, Ken also did not answer his phone. _

_Frustrated, Taichi decided to call Takeru. He knew that recently Hikari and Takeru were having some troubles in their relationship, judging from Hikari's distracted attention at home lately and the shivers she had whenever Takeru's name was mentioned in the dining table. Hearing the story from Hikari, when she broke down yesterday night, did not really help, as the problem remained unresolved. He had called Yamato and asked about it, but the young bassist did not know as well. Taichi knew that Hikari would just get mad if he confronted Takeru directly, so he decided to stay quiet over the matter. As of now, he wasn't sure if they had resolved the problem yet, but Taichi needed to find his little sister no matter what. _

_He dialled Takeru's phone number, and nobody answered. He let out a disappointed sigh as he entered the park. He had been looking for Hikari for an hour now, calling her friends while walking around the city in an attempt to locate her, but none had any news of her. He sat on the bench and sighed._

'_It isn't that far from Takeru's apartment from here,' he thought. There was no reason for Hikari to be there, unless she and Takeru had made up. Still, he thought it was worth a try, and dialled Takeru's home number. The line was on hold as he listened to the static 'beep' echoing in his ear, and then someone picked up the phone._

'_He –hello?' To his surprise, it was the person he had been looking for the whole night. Hikari's wailing voice told him something was definitely going wrong._

'_Hikari? Why do you sound like you're crying?' _

_The other end of the line was quiet for a moment before Taichi heard his sister sob. 'Onii-chan…oh onii-chan…' Hikari started to weep, and Taichi felt his heart ache. He was not going to like whatever that had happened._

'_Is Takeru with you? Did he do anything to you? What happened?' Taichi instantly started to run in the direction of the Takahashi residence, raising his voice, ignoring people's glare at him in the park for disturbing the atmosphere of a perfectly fine night._

'_Yes he is here…and no he didn't…didn't do anything to me…but he protected me…' Hikari trailed off again as she kept on crying. Every second of hearing her sob made Taichi run faster. _

'_I'll be right there Hikari!' He yelled into the phone and kept running. It wasn't long that he found himself standing outside the apartment complex that Takeru lived in. As he decided to ignore the elevator and dashed up the stairs, he heard some residents gossiping with one another in the lobby._

'_Did you hear the loud bang a minute ago?'_

'_Yea, it was so loud! It sounds like a gunshot or something like that.'_

'_Should we call the police then?'_

'_But is it really a gunshot? I mean, it's not like ordinary citizens like us will have access to guns…'_

_He didn't know what to think when he was inside the elevator by himself._

_In a split of second he arrived at Takeru's apartment. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. 'Damnit!' Taichi screamed, and he threw himself at the door, mimicking what people did in movies, and after a few trials he thrashed the door open. _

_The whole apartment had its light on, so Taichi could see it clearly: droplets of blood were on the floor, spreading unevenly as if someone had been wounded and dragged across the corridor. Gulping, he carefully walked in. The trace of blood was from Takeru's room, on his right, and he raised his eyebrows to find an unconscious Ichijouji Ken lying on Takeru's bed. 'What the heck…' he whispered, not noticing the other two people in another direction._

'_Onii-chan…' hearing that voice made Taichi snap to his left. He was more surprised by the sight. There was his sister, kneeling on the floor with her white dress somewhat torn and stained with blood, and she was holding a blond with visible bruises on his face. The condition of his clothes was even worse than that of Hikari's. There were holes everywhere on his shirt and trousers, and Taichi could see the blood dripping from his leg. Lying beside Takeru was a silvery object that Taichi immediately recognized. Both figures had traces of tears on their faces. _

_Taichi was stunned and he froze on his spot. He couldn't find the necessary strength to move his legs, his eyes dazed by the appalling sight of his sister and her boyfriend, with their untidy clothes and their terrible states. It wasn't until Hikari whispered his name again that he was snapped back to reality. He dashed forward and kneeled in front of the two figures, inspecting their wounds. They were a lot more horrible than he had imagined, and he could tell Takeru's were a lot more serious than Hikari's. The blood on Hikari's dress seemed to originate from Takeru's wounds._

'_Wh–what happened, Hikari?' He found his voice shaking as his sister was still crying. Takeru, on the other hand, was looking at him with a blank countenance. 'Why is Ken unconscious in the room…why are you two like this…' his voice trailed when he saw a figure lying in the master bedroom. It looked like a man, and he was not moving. In fact, a flood of blood surrounded the man's body as his shirt was soaked crimson. Taichi stared at the gun next to Takeru._

'_Did you…shoot him?' He whispered with a low voice, while Hikari followed Taichi's glance to the room then back to Takeru. 'He was hitting Ta–Takeru…and then he knocked Ken un–unconscious and…and then he tr–tried to…' _

'_He tried to rape Hikari, so I shot him.' Unlike Hikari's trembling voice, Takeru sounded almost sincere, even relieved, in saying that. Taichi stared in shock at hearing that, and then he looked at the young boy. His expression was unreadable. Having known Takeru for years, he was bemused by how different the young lad looked right now. Takeru was in front of him yet he felt like he was miles away. He looked back at Hikari, who sobbed as Takeru recalled what happened, and Taichi gave both of them a reassuring hug. He didn't care if his clothes would get stained at all. His emotions overwhelmed his senses now. _

'_Did he…' Taichi was not able to finish his question, for he could not gather the courage to say that word in front of his sister, who was the victim here. He was visibly relieved when he saw Hikari shake her head, but still, the sight in front of him was too much for him to bear. _

'_I'll call the police.' He stated, and began to dial the emergency number._

_What followed was utter chaos. Ken regained consciousness shortly after Taichi arrived, and told him of what he had seen in Takeru's room. Takeru also stated what had happened afterwards, of Tanaka's beating and his attempted rape on Hikari, and Hikari also told him how the man kept beating Takeru whenever possible. Taichi couldn't help but question the blond of the man, only to find out that the truth was not something he could swallow easily._

_The police came and the medics sent everyone to the hospital. Takeru was calm and told the police of everything that had happened. He told them how Tanaka had been abusing him, physically and sexually, for weeks, and how tonight he made fun of his mother's death and he went mad. He also explained the presence of Ken and Hikari in the apartment, and what had happened to them. He admitted to grabbing the gun and shooting the man. The police was shocked that one of their colleagues did such a thing to a young teenager, but the magnificent amount of scars and wounds on his body proved the story. _

_It was a long night for Taichi. He could see the worried faces of his parents, who rushed to the hospital after being notified of Hikari's admission, turned into expressions of horror when he told them the whole story. They had always treated Takeru like their own son, and to know that he had been suffering like that overwhelmed them. Taichi did not know how to react to all of that. He just stood there, agape, pondering if there's anything worse than this that could happen to the young teenager. He felt his blood boiling and his desire of beating Tanaka until the man could no longer stand on his feet, but he was now under police custody, and he had to control his temper well so as not to freak out in front of his startled sister. _

_It even made it worse that he felt obliged to call Yamato, who was on tour with his band, to inform him about it. It was the most difficult conversations he had ever had with his best friend. Halfway through the story, Yamato seized talking, and Taichi decided to just urge him to come back to Obaida as soon as possible. What else was he supposed to say? Takeru was like his own brother as well, and that was not just because of him dating Hikari. Ever since their adventure in the Digital World Taichi knew he could trust the young blond. He began to imagine how he would have reacted if this had happened to Hikari instead, and he paled just thinking about that. _

_Ken was immediately released from hospital since he only suffered a blow in the back. Hikari had to stay for two nights as her mental state was not really stable after what had happened. Takeru, on the other hand, had to stay for a while since he had many wounds on his body, and the doctor wanted to provide the suitable treatment for him after knowing what had happened to him. The sixteen-year-old had been seeing a psychologist ever since being admitted to the hospital. _

_Tanaka survived from the blow, albeit barely. When he woke up, the police asked for his statements. He denied the charges, but Takeru and Hikari's statements were enough to at least charge him for abuse and attempted sexual assault. He was placed under heavy surveillance in the hospital since it took time for his wound to heal as well._

The little boy stopped crying and threw his arms around his father's neck, embracing the middle-aged man affectionately. Taichi watched with a painful smile on his face, and slowly removed his glance from the sight as the morning breeze greeted him by the entrance of the hospital.

It didn't take him long to get to Takeru's room on the fifth floor of the building. The door was open, so he casually walked in and found the young blond sitting on bed, holding a book in his hands. He was so focused on the book that he didn't notice Taichi was here. The Child of Courage observed him closely. Takeru was wearing a pale green, short-sleeved hospital gown that did not cover all of his scars on his arms. There were still some visible wounds on his neck, although it was already a much better sight than the night he found him and Hikari sitting in the Takaishi apartment's living room.

'_Man's Search for Meaning_, by Viktor Frankl.' He mused, eyeing the title of the book and suppressing a chuckle as the young blond raised his head, taking notice of his presence. 'I swear, you spend way too much time with Ken, Takeru. Some day you'll even start to understand what Koushiro talks about.'

Takeru rolled his eyes, although a small smile was also visible on his face. 'Hopefully by then I can still understand the logic of those pointless arguments you have with my brother.' Taichi walked to the boy and ruffled his hair playfully, earning a groan from the sixteen-year-old. He knew that Takeru didn't like it that much, for it seemed like he was still being treated like a kid, but then it was Taichi and Yamato's way of showing their affection towards him. 'Hello to you too, Taichi-san.'

'Hey kiddo.' Taichi replied, and grabbed a nearby chair to sit down. 'How's it going today?'

'So-so,' Takeru put down the book on his lap and stretched his arms. 'I just had another meeting with my psychologist a while ago.'

'And?'

'Well, basically she talked about what kind of traumatic consequences I might suffer from…this incident.' Taichi noticed the tone of the young teenager wasn't that hostile. In the past few days, he was rather reluctant to talk more about the abuse after revealing all to the police. Whenever the psychologist or the nurses asked, he would reply coldly and tried to change the topic. _Ken's book might have helped a bit_, Taichi thought. Unlike the others, Ken was Takeru's intellectual support. The two young digidestined would spend hours discussing life and different sorts of philosophy that would have driven Taichi and Yamato crazy, but Taichi also knew that was what Takeru needed. He needed someone to talk to, and when he told Taichi he was not ready to talk to Hikari yet, that someone became Ken, who could provide the intellectual side of knowledge that he or Yamato probably wasn't that good at.

'She mentioned something about depression and different phobias,' Takeru continued, 'and also possible sexual dysfunction, which I guess you'll probably be glad to hear that.' It was an attempt to lighten the mood, Taichi knew. It was Takeru's way of making people feel better, his way of saying 'don't freak out because of me, I'm fine'. Taichi just kept a blank stare at the blond.

'That's a terrible joke, Takeru,' Taichi smiled painfully, and the young blond sighed in defeat, knowing that Taichi had seen through his act. It wasn't the first time. He had tried to lighten the mood when Yamato or his father was here, but they only glared at him in return, and had a guilty expression on their faces. Takeru couldn't stand that. He didn't like it when others were sad because of him.

In moments like this he thought he and Hikari were rather alike: they both rather hid their pain and forced a smile when they so desperately wanted to cry and yell. He still vividly recalled the look of despondency and despair Yamato had when he arrived at the hospital, panting as if he had run a marathon to reach him, and the horrifying look he had when the police questioned him about the abuse. His father was in no better shape; Ishida Hiroaki was shocked to learn that Natsuko had passed away, and the man who was supposed to take care of him treated the teenager like a toy. He tried to play the same trick on Sora and Ken, but they would just ask him not to say something like that.

In a way, he was glad that Ken had contacted Sora about this. Of all the digidestined, he probably respected Sora the most, after Yamato, his brother, and Taichi, his leader. She was always the mother figure of the team, and she knew what to say to make people feel better. The presence of her in this scenario made her a good moral support for Yamato, who was devastated after knowing what had happened, and Hikari, who also looped up to Sora.

'I know.' He sighed again and broke eye contact with him, staring at the ceiling blankly.

'Hikari is worried about you.'

'I know.' Silence filled the room temporarily. 'How is she?'

'The truth?' Taichi almost had to laugh. 'She's taking it as bad as Yamato is.'

That statement alone was enough to give Takeru a mental picture of what the young brunette was like now. He didn't want to recall the expression Yamato and Hiroaki had when they learned of his suffering and Natsuko's death. According to Sora, it was the same countenance the Yagamis had when they arrived to see Hikari and heard the news. Yagami Susumu and Yagami Yuuko always treated him like their own son, and they approved of him dating Hikari almost right away when they announced the news to them two years ago.

And then there was Hikari. He had asked Taichi not to let Hikari visit him before, for he did not know how to face her. It was painful for him to see her face without thinking about how much he had put her through. Although Taichi and Sora kept saying it wasn't his fault, he just was not sure what to say to Hikari when she came to see him. After all, he was the reason she had suffered too. He almost let Tanaka rape her. It was not something that Takeru could forgive himself easily.

'She goes back to school today,' Taichi said as Takeru kept silent. 'The doctor says she should be fine to go, and she has to catch up on school work too after missing almost a week of class.'

'That's good,' Takeru turned his attention from the ceiling to his feet, his eyes absentminded. 'I'm glad.'

'She wants to see you, you know.' Taichi raised his voice slightly to get his attention. Although he fully understood that Takeru was not in the best condition to see Hikari, it also pained him to see his sister immersed in agony over the same matter. He was well aware of how important Takeru was to his sister, and seeing her despondent state at home, after she was discharged from the hospital, was heartbreaking to the overprotective brother.

'And others will want to know what happened to you.' Taichi kept his voice still so as not to startle the young patient. It was hard for them to hide the things from other digidestined, who all knew of Takeru's strange behaviour of the past weeks and wanted to know what happened to him. 'I understand that you need time now, and that's okay, but you can't run away from your friends forever,' he took a moment to think, and decided to continue his sentence, 'especially Hikari.'

'I know, Taichi-san. I know.' Takeru sighed and turned to look at the brunette, obserfing his trademark, messy brown hair, and the blue shirt and a pair of white trousers he had put on. 'It's not like I like to lie to them. It's just…what am I supposed to say?' As Taichi opened and closed his mouth, Takeru continued. 'You guys help me a lot in keeping myself sane, but telling it…telling it to another person is a different matter, you know? I'm just trying to accept what has happened to me, and I don't think I can handle revealing all to Daisuke and others now.'

'I'm not saying you have to now,' Taichi interjected, 'it'll take time, for sure. All I'm saying is just that we are all worried, and I just want you to know Hikari is worried sick about you.

'There's another thing I want to talk to you about.' Takeru looked at Taichi, confused, 'regarding your living arrangement after you are discharged.'

'Dad says that he'll try to get a transfer to Obaida–'

'Right, but he won't get it right away, will he? That's why Yamato and I come up with a solution.' He looked at Takeru in the eyes, finding his blue eyes flickering. 'You can stay with us until Hiroaki-san gets his transfer and finds an apartment in Obaida.'

He wasn't exactly sure if Takeru was taking the news well. The young blond was now in deep thought, his ocean blue eyes flickering at his suggestion. Yamato and Taichi knew that he didn't want to return to his apartment, for there were too many unpleasant memories in that small place, but then Yamato and his father lived outside of Obaida, and it would be inconvenient for him to go to school if he lived with them. That was, if he intended to go to the same school and faced familiar faces that he had turned his back on. Logically, living with the Yagamis would be the best option. Susumu and Yuuko liked him and knew of this incident, so he did not have to hide anything from them. Taichi was staying in his dormitory in college, so he could use his room. He only had one concern.

'What does Hikari think about it?'

Taichi had to resist himself from raising his eyebrows. 'She doesn't know yet, but otou-san and okaa-san agree too. They think it's the best option, and they certainly want to take care of you.' Taichi hoped that the last part of his sentence did not sound offensive to Takeru's ears, for it would imply that, in a sense, he could not take care of himself. Takeru seemed to take notice of that, but he didn't comment on it or show distaste over that remark. 'Hikari will be the last person on earth to oppose that, you know.'

And Takeru knew it was true. He would never underestimate how much Hikari cared for him. If she did not, then she wouldn't insist on confronting him at the first place. She had been the one trying to get the truth out of him because she cared. She had been the one trying to heal him when he was hurt.

That thought made him mentally ache.

'Well I have to go now. I need to go to my lecture.' Taichi decided to give him some time to think as he rose from his seat. 'I'll come back in the afternoon with Yamato, Sora and Ken, maybe around five or six. They have classes too. We have to convince Yamato not to come here this morning or else he'll fail college for sure, given his attendance.' Takeru gave a weak smile as Taichi smirked at his own comment about his best friend. True, he knew that Yamato wanted to stay by his side as long as possible, but he also had to go to school, and Takeru certainly did not want his brother to fail college because of him. He already missed a lot of lectures because of his tour with his band. It took much convincing by him and his father that the older blond reluctantly agreed not to take up the full-time job of staying by his side.

Taichi took one last glance at the young blond as he prepared to leave. He sighed mentally. He wanted nothing more than the full recovery of his sister's boyfriend, both physically and psychologically. Yet he knew it would take time for him to heal. He just hoped he would be able to stand on his feet soon. There was nothing much he could do. It was something that Takeru had to deal with by himself.

'Taichi-san?'

He paused by the door, and looked backward. Takeru's expression was unreadable, but he only had to listen to what he had to say. The boy shifted uncomfortably for a second and gulped. He licked his lips nervously as the tall young adult waited patiently for him to go on.

'If Hikari is ready,' he raised his head to look at his leader, 'I'd like to see her.'

Taichi only gave a warm smile.

'She's always ready for you, Takeru.'

* * *

It was a chilly afternoon when Yagami Hikari left her home. She walked her way to the tall, white building and it took her about fifteen minutes to reach her destination. On her way, she also bought some flowers and fruits, and carried the colourful combination in her arms. The weather was chilly today, and she clung to her long, pink dress when her skins shivered at the aggressive wind. She also tightened the orange scarf around her neck to make herself warmer. She loved this scarf that matched her dress, if not for the reason that it was her Christmas gift last year, given by none other than Takeru.

Speaking of the blond boy, the images of that night, a week ago, still haunted her. She couldn't imagine the pain Takeru had been suffering from, when he reported what had happened to the police officers who came to the scene after Taichi called the emergency hotline. On the one hand Takeru was so helpless, so desperate, so fragile, that Hikari could only hold him and cry. On the other hand, he looked relieved to finally say it, even if it meant she was totally shocked by his story, and felt guilty for not picking up the clues sooner. Ken, Taichi and Sora had repeatedly told her that it's not her fault, but she couldn't wash away the feeling that she could have done something to prevent all of this from happening.

Despite her desperate attempt to visit Takeru, her doctor urged for her to get more rest after the incident, and her parents would not allow her to set foot outside of their apartment for days. It wasn't until today that she was allowed to go back to school after missing classes for almost a week, and she had to face questions from everyone asking about her absence. She faked a smile and just said it was food poisoning, but her smile faltered when she passed by Takeru's classroom and saw his empty seat.

She knew Takeru was still dealing with this conflict of his. Anyone would be severely distressed in such case, and Hikari could not imagine how she would act if she was in Takeru's place. He had been brave enough to withstand and expose it, not to mention how he desperately protected her from harm that night. If not for his energy to carry his badly injured body across the corridor to stab Tanaka in the knee, if not for his pull on the trigger…

Hikari gulped as she walked into the hospital and took the elevator to reach the fifth floor. His room was now just feet ahead of her, and Hikari suddenly grew scared. Over the past week, she had wanted to see Takeru badly, but his doctor said he needed rest. Hikari knew that her parents and her brother had visited him, though, but she did not complain, for she respected Takeru's decision. She understood that it would take some time for him to think about how he should act when facing her. However, she knew she had to see him. He couldn't just expect her to stay away from him after all this, for she, or both of them, treasured this relationship so much.

Still, it came as a surprise to her when she received a text from her older brother this morning that contained nothing but a room number, and a heart-warming 'good luck' after that. That simple message was enough to make her heart pump faster than usual and made her inwardly beam for the rest of the day.

Yet how would Takeru react now? Letting out an emotional and physical burden did not necessarily mean he was ready to see her, especially when he had been through some grave pain. It was entirely possible that he didn't want to think about relationship matters right now, with a trial against Tanaka in the soon future and the death of Takaishi Natsuko for him to deal with.

But at the same time, it felt like more of a reason for her to see him. She understood him better than anyone else, and Natsuko-san treated her like her own daughter. She would not back down, and should take his hand to let him know that they could face this together. He had her, and she would be there for him. He had always given her hope, and this time she would do the same for him. She would be his light to walk through this darkness.

She peeked in the room through the window glass, and saw that he was lying on the wall of the bed, reading a book. Viktor Frankl's _Man's Search for Meaning_. She had heard about it from Ken who lent him the book. He said that hopefully it would provide some insight to an intelligent person like Takeru on how to deal with the situation, and she could only hope that he was right.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door and walked in. She opened the door slightly and observed him carefully. Takeru was in his pale green hospital gown, and his legs were covered by the blanket. He looked better than he had been for the past weeks, but the scars on his face were still easy to spot. There were also some on his arms that his short-sleeved gown did not cover. Hikari frowned at the sight of such scars, but quickly dismissed it and looked at Takeru with a small smile on her face, wanting to show that she was happy to see him.

Takeru looked shocked to find her there, as he stared at her horrifyingly. His shoulders visibly tensed, and he lowered his book to his lap. His ocean blue orbs stared into her brown chocolate eyes, and the brown-haired brunette did not avert her gaze. They remained like that for a still minute, ignoring the nurses and doctors passing by the corridor hurriedly, or the painful wails of the patients next door, until Takeru finally muttered her name, as if in greetings.

'Hikari.' He stated, his voice shaking slightly. Hikari noticed that, but she carried her smile nonetheless.

'Takeru.' She replied, deciding that he was not asking her to leave, and closed the door behind her and walked into the room. She carefully placed the bouquet of flowers she bought on the table next to the wall, and put down the bag of fruits as well. 'I bought these on my way here. Do you want to eat any fruit? I have bought some apples and oranges, and I can peel them for you.' Hearing no response, she turned her attention from the items on the table to him, only to find him still staring at her with a painful expression. Hikari's heart ached, but she took the cue. She grabbed a chair and sat next to his bed.

The sixteen-year-old could not read his expression. It was one of those times that Takeru tried to hide his true feelings to others, and she knew that Takeru wasn't the kind of person to express himself openly. Even if it meant he was hurting himself, he would still do it, hoping that others would not suffer because of his feelings. That was the Takeru she knew. She gazed into his ocean blue eyes that looked afraid to look directly at her. She frowned.

'How are you doing today?' She politely asked despite thinking that her tone sounded weird. It was as if she was a social worker who just met her client for the first time.

'So-so,' he replied, his eyes shifted uncomfortably from her to his blanket. Takeru was scared. He had been preparing himself for facing Hikari since his admittance, and he knew he had to face her soon, after his meeting with Taichi this morning. But when she was just right there, sitting in front of him, he found his body and mind weakened and he did not know how to react.

'I went back to school today,' Hikari started, trying to keep the normal conversation going. 'People asked about you. They asked if they could visit, but I said you needed more rest, since otou-san called the school and said you're in a car accident.'

'I see.' Takeru looked around the room, his eyes staying at anywhere but her slender figure. 'I'm glad that you can go back to school so soon, after…you know.'

'My wounds weren't that serious anyway. I was shocked by what happened, but the adventures in the Digital World have taught me to overcome any obstacles ahead of me.' She said, watching Takeru's expression change from anxious to calm. 'We've been through a lot together, Takeru, and we can go through this together as well.' _Just let me _was what she wanted to add, but she swallowed the words back to her throat.

Takeru was still not looking at the brown-haired girl. He was trying to say something, but he was just so tongue-tied to let any word come out of his mouth. The blond kept on struggling as Hikari waited patiently for him to speak. He sighed in defeat.

'I'm sorry, Hikari.'

Hikari did not like the tone of his voice. It sounded depressing to her ears.

'I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess of mine. I didn't mean to get you hurt...'

'You saved me, Takeru.'

'I thought I could deal with it by myself. I thought I could handle it. In the end, I failed, and get you and Ken hurt, and okaa-san as well.'

'It's not your fault.'

'It is.' He insisted. 'If only I was stronger, if only I didn't let you guys stay in the apartment, none of these would ever happen…'

'Takeru…'

'Look Hikari, I know you're mad about this whole thing and mad at me. I don't think we should keep on seeing…I understand if you do not want to…'

'Takeru.'

Her stern voice prevented him from saying anything else and snapped him to look at her, as she also reached for his hands and held them tightly in her small palms. Her grip on his hands grew stronger as he, for an instant, wanted to slip out of her seize.

'I'm not letting go, Takeru.' The patient wondered if he had ever seen her so determined before. 'You are my hero, my best friend, and the one who understands me the most in the world. You've saved me endless times ever since our first adventure in the Digital World, and you are the one who give me hope when hope seems to be gone.' She took a deep breath, and stared right into his eyes.

'Yes, I am mad.' She stated firmly, and Takeru again looked guilty, and she desperately wanted to wipe that frown off his face. 'But I am not mad that I was hurt that night. I am mad that _you_ were hurt that night. I am mad that _that man_ beat you and treated you like a toy. I am mad that _he _had done so for quite some time. I am mad that _you_ turned your back on us. I am mad that _you _shoved me away. I am mad that _you_ still want _me_ to be out of your life. I am mad that _you _think I'm such a heartless person to just walk away like this.'

By the time she finished, Hikari had hot tears streaming down her cheeks. She breathed unsteadily after making such an agitated speech, and she sniffed as she found her body shaking as well. She broke eye contact with Takeru, who looked stunned, and looked down on her shoes. She needed some time to calm herself down.

A familiar gentle hand slowly reached for her cheek, and was wiping her tears away from her face. Hikari raised her head to find Takeru caressing her face, his eyes filled with affection and guilt, and his face showing nothing but concern. At that instant he looked like the old Takeru who looked worried whenever she felt sad or troubled.

'Please don't cry, Hika…I don't like it when you cry…' He softly whispered, and pulled her towards him into an embrace. Hikari was slightly taken aback by this, as she thought Takeru still resisted physical contact, but it was when she sobbed into his shoulders that she realized how much she had missed the warmth of his body. She always enjoyed hugging Takeru, and this time it was of no difference.

'I'm sorry that I said such harsh words to you, Hika. You don't know how much it means to hear you say that you still care for me.'

'Of course I do, silly,' she smiled weakly as her sobs ceased. 'Don't ever push me away like that again.'

'I promise.' He pulled back to look at her in the eyes. He looked resolute and he kept drawing circles on her cheeks with his thumbs to trace her tears, and to feel her delicate skins again. To be honest, he was still fearful of physical contact, as it only gave him bad memories these days, but he was willing to try. This person in front of him just showed how much she cared for him, and he was willing to do anything to bring that bright, beautiful smile that he adored so much to her face again. 'I promise, Hika.'

'I love you, Keru.'

That statement startled him and made him think. It wasn't like they had not shown affection towards each other before. After all, they had been dating for two years, but to Takeru, 'love' was a strong word. He detested people who said it without really meaning it, and he recalled the time when he would sneer at people who casually said that very word. But this time, it felt different. Hearing those three words expressed in her angelic voice made him feel happy, warm, and overjoyed. He didn't realize the auspicious smile that slowly crept into his face, or the tears that were threatening to fall from his eyes. He put his hands on Hikari's face and pulled her closer to him until their lips met.

It was not a brief kiss at all. Takeru took his time tasting the lips that he had not tasted in weeks, and Hikari certainly had no intention of letting go as well. The young couple immersed themselves in the act of intimacy that both wished for. They had not kissed in a long time, and they were not willing to let each other go now. The tears on their faces made the kiss taste salty, but they did not care. All they had in their mind was each other. It was only the physiological need for breath that finally made them part, both panting heavily now.

'I love you too, Hika.' Takeru kissed her forehand and pulled her into a warm, tight embrace, as Hikari was now practically lying on the bed by his side, leaving the chair empty behind her.

He knew that he meant every word he said now. There were no mistakes in it. He loved her. He truly loved her. He wholeheartedly loved Yagami Hikari. 'I love you so much.' It was a statement of his true feelings. He who had been so afraid of love before had realized how much he loved her. It was the only logical explanation for what he felt about her: the desire to hold her, to protect her, to put the smile upon her face, to see the glint of joy in her eyes.

'Baka.' Hikari whispered, but Takeru could hear the smile in her voice. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. As the comfortable silence took over, the young couple just closed their eyes and enjoyed each other's company, ignoring everything else, and immersed in the world of their own.

Outside the room, four figures stood and watched the scene through the glass window of the hospital room. They had all wanted to go in to visit them, but seeing what happened inside made them decide it would be better to let them have some space now. They were the only people of all digidestined who knew about what had happened, and even though they did not feel like lying to the others, they knew it would be best for Takeru to decide when to reveal the whole truth to others.

A blond with messy hair and silver earrings looked at the embracing couple with guilt and relief in his eyes, and the orange-haired girl standing next to him gave him a friendly hug, squeezing his hands.

'It's not your fault, Yamato,' Sora softly muttered, 'I know you still feel guilty about this whole thing, but don't let Takeru suffer more. He's been through a lot already, and the last thing he needs right now is for either you or Hikari-chan to feel guilty about it.'

'I know, Sora,' the blond murmured, 'I know. But it's just…so unfair…that it happens to him…to Takeru of all people…'

'We can't change anything about the past,' Ken spoke, his eyes not leaving the embracing couple in the room, 'but we can only move on with our lives. That's what Takeru wants too. He doesn't want to let this thing drag him anymore. He wants to return to his normal life.'

'It won't be easy, but he can make it, Yamato.' Taichi continued as he patted his best friend on the shoulder. 'We will do our best to help him. Hikari will be there for him. Takeru won't like it that we all go in with crying faces and guilty looks.'

Yamato smiled slightly at his friend's comment. 'You're right.'

'When am I not?' Taichi grinned and moved towards the door. 'I think I've given my sister enough time to settle things with Takeru now, so let's just go in before visiting hour is over.' The others nodded in agreement and followed their leader as he knocked and opened the door.

Takeru and Hikari broke from their embrace as they heard the knock, and they turned to face the door, with smiles on their faces as they saw who were coming in. Hikari looked back at Takeru, truly happy for her beloved, and he squeezed her hand in response as he looked at her with a gentle expression on his face. Taichi looked at the two of them and smirked.

'So how are my favourite little sister and little brother doing today?'

* * *

_The End_

* * *

Some minor notes:

1. Viktor Frankl's _Man's Search for Meaning_ is a brilliant book about author's experience in the Nazi concentration camp during WWII, and his reflection on the condition of life. It is a good work that discusses existentialism and I recommend people to read it.

2. I can't recall if where exactly Hiroaki and Yamato were staying was mentioned in the series, so in this fic I set it that they're not living in Obaida, but possibly somewhere near the city. I know that caused some confusion among readers who constantly asked me 'where is Yamato when Takeru needs him?', apart from the setting that Yamato was away on tour and Takeru kept his mouth shut on the matter. My apology for not making that entirely clear at the beginning of the fic.

3. It was intentional for Taichi to call Takeru his 'little brother' at the end. I'll let you figure out why I put that there.

* * *

Finally, I'm glad I got this project done. It's been a really strange experience on writing about an issue that I sincerely hope will only happen in the world of fiction, although I know that realistically that will never be the case as long as sick-minded perverts exist in the world. I just want to stress again that I am by no means promoting any horrible behaviour such as abuse or rape. It's just a story in my mind that I felt like writing about. These things are never acceptable, and it's horrifying to me that they still happen on a frequent basis in Twenty-first Century.

To my surprise, this last chapter turns out to be the longest among all. I thought for a long time on how to end the story, and I finally decided to end it with an optimistic tone of realization and recognition.

When I first had the idea of writing this story about Takeru being abused, I had three key scenes in mind: firstly, the scene where Hikari tried to touch him but he retreated (chapter 1); secondly, the scene where Takeru shot Tanaka in order to protect Hikari (chapter 4); lastly, the conversation between Takeru and Taichi in the hospital (chapter 5). I wanted to portray Takeru as someone who was very uncertain about the idea of love from the beginning. Personally, my parents are on the edge of divorce for years, and for a long time I remained very sceptical about the idea of 'love', and I want to instil that element into Takeru's character, given his family background. Hence I spent some paragraphs discussing his indifference towards love at first. Even when he was dating Hikari, he only knew that he _liked_ her, but not necessarily _loved_ her, since he had been very sceptical about that idea. It wasn't until the end that he realized he was able to love too.

(For those who think Takeru was too young to understand what a divorce meant, let me assure you that it is not a pleasant sight to witness your parents yelling at each other throughout the whole night even when you're just four or five. Those memories are imprinted in your mind forever, and yes, they do have an effect on your life. I speak of that from personal experience.)

It became a scenario of _Hedgehog Dilemma_ when the abuse began, and thus the first key scene. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, Hedgehog Dilemma is an analogy coined by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: imagine two hedgehogs trying to get closer to share heat, but the sharp spines on their bodies hurt one another, hence they have to remain apart to avoid getting hurt. The idea is that harm will come with intimacy, and the fear of getting hurt will prevent people from getting closer to each other. That was why Takeru retreated from Hikari's touch despite wanting to hold her hand, and why he agreed to go to the park with Ken and Hikari despite not wanting to get them into this mess. He desperately longed for human warmth when he suffered at home, but he did not want to get his friends hurt too. If you want to know what exactly this means, just watch the classic anime _Neon Genesis Evangelion_ and I think you'll understand.

The second key scene was pretty self-explanatory, I assume. Takeru had to do something drastic to stop Tanaka's advance on Hikari. I said that I needed a 'loss of innocence' moment for Takeru, since it takes great courage and determination to pull a trigger. However, what Takeru gained was also the recognition of his feelings. At that moment, Hikari's safety was more important than anything else in his mind, and the nearest object that he could use to protect her was the pistol, and he did not hesitate a bit in using that to protect the person he realized he really loved. It was a drastic measure, but a necessary one in that scenario.

I wanted Taichi's conversation with Takeru to be a key scene because I needed a character to offer Takeru comfort and guidance on how to go on with his life. Hiroaki and Yamato could not be that person, since they would be too emotional for that role; Ken was the 'intellectual support', who could offer advice on an intellectual level, but not necessarily comfort; Hikari was out of the question since I needed her for the final conversation with Takeru; I needed Sora to be the moral support/motherly figure for the involved characters; so that left only Taichi who could fit that role, since he was a brotherly figure to the blond, and the leader of the first generation of Chosen Children whom Takeru greatly respected. His connection with Hikari also made it a plus.

I ended the story with an optimistic tone, since I wanted to portray the growth of Takeru as a character, from rejecting love to recognizing and accepting it. I also wished not for him to hence become a secluded character who isolated himself from others: as much as the experience hurt, he was aware that he had to go on with his life. He could not change what had happened, but he could decide on how to cope with the experience and what to do next in his life after the trauma. I am taking a course in philosophy/existentialism this semester, and the existentialist ideas of people like Frankl and Friedrich Nietzsche fascinate me. Ultimately, it's your attitude towards your control of life that matters. I do not wish to simplify matters here, since abuse is a big issue, but how one deals with the aftermath of the matter also means a lot.

Overall, I am quite satisfied with how the story turns out to be. It's a more mature story compared with my other _Digimon_ fanfics, or other fics in general. Now that this is completed, I am developing an AU Takari story that hopefully I will get to publish soon. I'm still working on the details of that fic, and will see how things turn out.

Last but not least, I thank everyone who reads, reviews, favourites, or alerts this story. I'm glad to have the support of you guys, particularly the reviewers who gave me valuable comments along the way. I would like to hear more from you all, and please review to let me know what you think about the story. See you all soon!


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